The Final Battle
by FairyTale
Summary: Sequel to The Last Marauder. Voldemort is not dead. Instead, he's already planning to get rid of Harry Potter for good. And his plans are not very pleasant. Just how much is Harry willing to sacrifice in order to kill the Dark Lord? *COMPLETE!!!*
1. Holiday

**Changed Story!!!**

**_A/N__: As you might have noticed, I have removed all chapters of my earlier version of this story. My muse left me halfway through it, and from the way I had started it, I could not reach the ending I wanted to reach._**

_This is no re-post, this story is somewhat different from the earlier version, even if parts of the main story line remained the same. So, even if you have read the first version, please take the time and read this new one, otherwise you won't be able to follow. But I promise that this version is a lot longer, and there is more Sirius in it!_

_As always, reviews are highly appreciated!!!_

_One thing before you start reading: If you haven't read "The Last Marauder" so far, maybe you should go and read it first. "The Final __Battle__" completely spoils the main storyline of The Last Marauder, so reading it afterwards means taking all the suspense out. **Even reading the summary does so! DON'T! And without the suspense it's only 24 chapters of boring words…**_

_Again, reviews and constructive criticism is HIGHLY appreciated, you guys really make my day._

_So guys, you asked for it and here I try to give it to you. I try to be nicer to our protagonists this time, I promise. But from what I have in mind, it will be hard. But I'll try. _

_Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters or settings, they all belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros. or somebody else who is not me. Summed up: all the good stuff is hers, the rest is mine. No money is being made with this. This story was created for enjoyment only.**

**Author's note: This is a sequel to the story "The Last Marauder", set after the events in that story, i.e. during Harry's sixth year. It would be advisable to read The Last Marauder first for it will help to understand some comments or references, though I try to explain them when they occur. However, reading this story first completely spoils The Last Marauder, so maybe you want to read that one first. **

**Summary: After the eventful start of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, the following months turned out to be rather eventless. At least concerning Voldemort. The wizarding community has been occupied with cleaning up the damages the Death Eater attacks have left and the Ministry could not deny the rise of the Dark Lord anymore. However, the lack of activity from his followers have left the wizarding world in a constant state of insecurity.**

Due to his incompetence, Cornelius Fudge has finally been removed from his position as the Minister of Magic and has been replaced by Hermes Wielding, a long-time associate of Albus Dumbledore. Arthur Weasley has been promoted and now works very close together with Wielding.

After the removal of Fudge, Sirius Black has eventually agreed to take up his old job as an Auror again and Remus Lupin once more teaches DADA at Hogwarts due to the fact that Arabella Figg decided to be more useful as a researcher for the Ministry. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione have finished the first half of their sixth year at Hogwarts and after the events of the previous term Harry now looks forward to coming to a little rest. So far, there has been no indication that his strange bond with Voldemort has once more been activated.

Underlined words indicate that they are emphasized.

"..." marks direct speech

'…' marks the thoughts of one character

**Holiday******

It was the 27tth of December, and for the first time since Harry Potter went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he spent his Christmas holidays at home. The main reason for this debut was that for the first time in his life, Harry had a home he wanted to return to.

Said Harry Potter at that moment sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace of his godfather's living room and stared at the dying embers in front of him. His thoughts drifted away as he contemplated how much life had changed for him during the last couple of months. In the end, it had all changed towards the better.

Sirius was a free man now, he had been cleared of all charges and finally he could take up his duties as Harry's guardian. One of the first things he had done had been offering Harry to adopt him, an offer Harry had been more than glad to take upon. Though the name Potter-Black was only used on official papers, it seemed more than right to Harry.

The two-men household in Black Cottage had soon been extended, when Remus Lupin had been found alive two months after his house had been attacked and burned down by Death Eaters. He had been at the brink of death when Sirius had found him at Malfoy Manor, and though as a werewolf he healed much quicker than normal human beings, the recovery from his injuries had been an irritatingly slow one. Because his own cottage had been far beyond repair, Sirius had talked him into moving in with Harry and him, and while Harry had been back at Hogwarts to finish his term, Sirius had seen to Remus' recovery.

Harry smiled when he thought about that.

Sirius had been euphoric about finding his friend alive, but it had taken him some time to push away his fears that this was only a mere dream from which he would wake up soon. Ever since he had taken Remus out of Madam Pomfrey's care, he had fretted over his friend, concernedly noticing every expression of uneasiness and treating him as if he were made of glass.

Harry had received several owls from Remus in which his former teacher practically begged him to try and talk some sense into his godfather, and when Harry had returned home for Christmas, he had more than once had to restrain himself from laughing about Remus' distress.

He knew that it would not take much longer until Remus would rip Sirius' throat out when he once again forced him to take an extra blanket or would tell him off for walking around in the garden without somebody watching him. Remus had already hinted at asking Severus Snape for some strong tranquillizing potions.

Raised voices from the direction of the kitchen pulled Harry out of his thoughts. He sighed. His godfather and Remus were at it again.

"Remus, I will only tell you once more: go into the living room and sit down. I'll make dinner."

"Then I will only tell you once more that I'm not leaving you alone in the kitchen. My birthday is in February and I'd like to remain alive to see the party. Which I certainly will not be if I let you blow up the house in an attempt to cook!"

"You need to sit down and take a break. You're still not up to so much activity."

"Sirius, I'm perfectly fine. I can walk around on my own without tiring, so I think I'm perfectly able to cook dinner for us."

Harry could vividly see his godfather shake his head in protest.

"You'd only overtax you strength. And you'd stress your arm too much."

"Sirius, I'm talking about cooking, not about weightlifting. And my arm is fine, the shoulder has only been dislocated."

"But it's your wand arm. You should be careful!"

"If it helps you, I'll use my right arm to prepare dinner."

"You can't cook with only one hand!"

"Oh, now listen to the expert speaking. Sirius, only because you could not prepare a meal with both hands if your life depended on it, that doesn't mean that I can't do it with only one. Really, it's only making food and we're fighting about it."

Harry now stood in the doorframe and watched the exchange between the two adults. Sirius threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat.

"Okay, make dinner if you want to. But don't come to me and complain when you've overtaxed yourself."

"Surely not."

"Or when your arm starts hurting again."

"Wouldn't think of it."

"And if you collapse, don't expect me to nurse you up again."

"Sirius!"

Remus now jumped off his chair and with an expression that declared his determinacy, he pushed Sirius out of the room, shutting the door close behind him.

Sirius for a moment glared at the wood, then turned and looked at his godson, his eyes pleading for help in that matter.

"Oh no Sirius, don't even try that! I think Remus is right, he's perfectly up to do things like cooking."

"Harry, I'm only trying to help him."

Harry shook his head and sat down on the sofa. 

"I think you'd be helping him more if you wouldn't treat him as if he were made of glass. Sirius, he's a grown up man, and I think that he knows exactly what he's up to and what not."

Sirius let himself fall on the sofa next to his godson and obviously contemplated what Harry had just said. After some moments, he shook his head.  
"Harry, I have seen how badly he was hurt. He can't tell me that he's perfectly fine again."

"Sirius, I've been there too. I've seen him too. And nobody said that he was perfectly fine, but he doesn't need you to fret over him the entire time."

"I'm only concerned."

Harry sighed. He had the feeling he didn't get anywhere.

"It's okay to be concerned, but you're suffocating him. Literally. It won't be long until he tries to beat some sense into you and I won't stop him. Leave him some space to breathe."

Sirius sighed.

"I'll try."

Harry nodded.

"Good."

For the next twenty minutes, they talked about this and that and nothing in particular until Remus' voice from the kitchen told them that dinner was ready. Harry had little hope that his godfather would be able to change his protective behaviour towards Remus from one moment to the other, and truly, the moment they stepped into the kitchen Sirius glanced up and down his friend in search for any signs of uneasiness. Finding none, he sat down at the kitchen table and the three started eating.

The peace didn't last long, not nearly long enough for Harry's taste at least. Sirius carefully eyed Remus' plate for quite some time. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Remus, you should eat more."

Remus merely raised an eyebrow and decided to ignore his friend's statement.

"I'm serious about this. You're eating far too little."

Remus shook his head.

"I don't think I will starve, Sirius."

"You've lost a lot of weight, at least twenty pounds."

"Yes, and since you started mothering me, I've gained at least twenty-five. Time for a diet, don't you think?"

"Remus, this is no joking matter. I'm concerned about you."

Remus sighed heavily.

"And I appreciate that Sirius, I really do. But you exaggerate it. I know that my injuries were bad, but believe me, I'm quite experienced with the healing abilities of my body. It comes along with being a werewolf. I think I know what I'm able to do and what not, and if I get the feeling that I'm still not up to something, I'll ask for your help. But as long as I don't, please don't treat me like a baby."

He gave Sirius a stern look to underline what he had just said. Sirius didn't like to be shut up like that, especially when he thought he was right. Though he nodded, his facial expression clearly indicated that he didn't think the last word concerning this matter had been said yet.

He was startled when he heard a suppressed snort coming from the direction where Harry sat. Turning around he faced his godson, who obviously had a very hard time to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"And what exactly is so funny about this?"

Harry chuckled and fought hard to restrain himself before he answered.

"You're pouting! I can't believe you, you're pouting like a four year old boy who didn't get his will."

Sirius' face fell and Harry could not hold back his laughter anymore. It didn't help to ease Sirius' mind that Remus as well could no longer hide his mirth.

"Fine, if you two think that you know better than I do, then I'll keep my mouth shut. If you want to ruin your health Remus, then it's your business, you won't hear another word from me."

Sirius turned back to his dinner and ignored the mumbled "That would be a first" that came from Remus' direction.

The three finished their dinner in silence and afterwards a still pouting Sirius conjured the dished to clean themselves. Remus meanwhile went into the living room where he helped Harry with a rather nasty Potions assignment Snape had given them for their holidays.

They spent their evening sitting together in front of the fireplace and talked about old times when Sirius and Remus still were at school. Harry could easily tell that Sirius had not given up worrying about Remus, and from time to time he threw concerned glances into the direction of his friend.

At ten o'clock, Remus stifled a yawn and before Sirius could say anything about it, he got up and told them that he would go to bed now. After he had left, Harry threw a very amused look at his godfather.

"What?"

Harry laughed.

"Sirius, you don't have to turn around 180 degrees and pretend that you ignore him. We're not daft, we both know that you're not able to. You simply have to stop mothering him, no matter how hard that is for you."

Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not mothering anybody."

Harry looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No?"

Sirius shook his head and sighed.

"Let's just go to bed and forget about it."

Harry nodded and got up from the sofa. "Good night Sirius."

"Good night Harry. Oh, and before I forget it. Albus said that he and Arabella will come over tomorrow morning. He wanted to talk about something, but didn't say what."

Again, Harry nodded.

"Well, I guess we'll see tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night Harry."

Sirius sighed and got up from the sofa as well. Those two simply didn't understand how concerned he still was about Remus' wellbeing. His friend had nearly died and this had been only three months ago. How could they act as if nothing had happened? Remus still wasn't his old and strong self, Sirius could clearly see that, so why didn't he allow him to be concerned?

Sirius shook his head and went upstairs into his bedroom. There was no use in pondering about this now, he would go to bed, have a good night's sleep and tomorrow morning he would see what Albus wanted. Harry's headmaster would surely understand his concerns and maybe he could talk some sense into that stubborn werewolf.

With these thoughts, Sirius lay down on his bed and immediately fell asleep. He had never imagined how exhausting it could be to take care of somebody's wellbeing.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

When Harry woke up the next morning it was already past nine. Inwardly cursing himself for having slept so long, he took a shower and dressed himself. He had planned to be awake before the adults got up, so that he could make the breakfast and prevent another fight about Remus' ability to survive the act of cooking.

When he came down into the kitchen however, Remus and Sirius were already sitting at the table and ate. There was no smoke in the kitchen, nothing seemed to have burned and Harry could detect no traces of an explosion, which led him to the conclusion that Sirius had not been the one to prepare breakfast. But the fact that the two adults were talking animatedly told him that this time Sirius had managed to restrain himself from a lecture.

"Good morning."

Remus and Sirius looked up.

"Ah, good morning Harry. We were already wondering when you would show up."

Harry smiled. 

"I slept in. Actually, I wanted to make breakfast today, but I must have forgotten to set my alarm clock."

He shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to some scrambled eggs.

"So, when will Professor Dumbledore and Professor Figg arrive?"

Sirius laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing Harry, it's just that I'm not used to somebody addressing Arabella as Mrs. Figg. I've known that woman ever since we left school, and I don't think that anybody at the Ministry ever called her that. But being your teacher, I think it's something different. As far as your question is concerned, Albus said that they would drop by around ten. They'll arrive by Floo, so maybe we should wait for them in the living room when you've finished your breakfast."

Harry nodded and continued eating. But still he eyed his godfather and his former teacher as if he was only waiting for another quarrel to come.

When he had finished, Sirius cleaned the kitchen, prepared some tea and the three went into the living room to wait for their guests to arrive. Some minutes after ten o'clock, the flames in the fireplace turned green and the figure of Harry's headmaster emerged, followed quickly by his Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Sirius and Remus got up and greeted their guests, monitoring them to take a seat and help themselves to some tea.

Dumbledore took a sip from his cup and turned his eyes towards Harry, a playful sparkle showing behind the half-moon glasses.

"Good morning to you, Harry. Enjoying your Christmas at home?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and returned the gaze.

"Good morning Professor. And yes, I'm quite enjoying my stay here, though Sirius somehow has turned into a mother hen during the last couple of months."

Dumbledore laughed and fortunately Sirius had been tot deeply engaged in a discussion with Mrs. Figg to hear what Harry had just said.

"I see Harry. Well, we all knew that Sirius can be a little over-zealous in certain things, I'm sure he thought it was only for the best."

"Better tell Remus about that, he was the receiving end of his concern."

Dumbledore laughed.

"Oh, I guess we probably have a solution for that."

The headmaster now turned his attention back to the two men and Arabella, who by now had all sat down and drank their tea.

"Well, well, good morning once again. Remus, I hope you're doing better?"

"Yes Albus, thank you. I'm fine."

Remus nodded to underline what he had said and wisely chose to ignore the snorting sound Sirius made when hearing that statement. Dumbledore turned towards Harry and smiled knowingly.

"The reason why I asked the five of us to meet is that, as you surely know, a lot of things have finally changed at the Ministry of Magic. Though I have chosen not to talk ill about him, it is our luck that Cornelius finally has resigned from his post."

Sirius interrupted.

"Been removed would be the appropriate word, that man would not have resigned if the world had been falling apart around him."

Dumbledore sighed.

"However, it is our luck that Hermes Wielding now is Minister of Magic, it will make things a lot easier. I guess you still remember Hermes?"

Remus thought hard.

"Ravenclaw, if I'm not much mistaken. He was three or four years ahead of us at school, so I don't remember much about him. But from what I've heard during the last years, he was one of the very few people of the Ministry who did not willingly accept everything Fudge announced as the truth. If Fudge had stayed in power for much longer, he surely would have removed Hermes because he would have gotten in his way."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I'm afraid that is true. He and Arthur Weasley had been working together for some time, before Hermes decided to change into another department. Climbed the career ladder there very quickly, everybody was quite impressed by his cleverness. However, I have not come to discuss Hermes' personality of course. It's more that now the Ministry is undergoing a couple of changes, most of them have been long time overdue the way I see it.

Sirius, you have surely realized the process of re-organizing that takes place at the moment."

Sirius hesitantly nodded.

"Well, I can only guess how it worked while Fudge was still in charge, but most of the people I've met so far seemed to be encouraged by what has happened. There's now no denial about Voldemort anymore, this makes working against him a lot easier. And as far as I see it, Wielding puts a lot of effort into breaking up the wrong loyalties that have established themselves over the years. But I guess it will take some more time until everything works the way it should have worked all the time."

Mrs. Figg spoke for the first time since she had arrived.

"That's exactly what we think. There is still a lot of work to do at the Ministry, and though there are far more competent people in charge right now, we still need the most experienced wizards we can get to organize the pieces Fudge left. Mundungus Fletcher's death has been most unfortunate, but Alastor Moody has agreed to take over the Auror training once again. Arthur Weasley is in charge of the contact with the Muggle authorities, and I think as soon as he has reduced his…enthusiasm a little, this will prove to be the best choice we could have made. 

The wizards and witches in charge of the Auror units are reliable and experienced allies as well, but we all know that Voldemort surely doesn't just sit back and wait for us to move. 

We don't know what we have to expect from him, but Hermes and Albus have decided to establish a research unit closely working together with the Auror squads. As soon as the Death Eaters start to move again, we'll have to analyze their moves and start researches on whatever means they use. Only if we keep up with them, we'll stand our chances. That's why we're here today."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I don't quite understand what you mean by this."

Dumbledore continued Mrs. Figg's line of thought.

"We still need a very experienced leader for this new unit. My first thought was Arabella. Her years as an Auror during Voldemort's first reign, not to mention her knowledge about curses and potions make her the best qualified candidate for the job. When I asked her about it, she immediately agreed, but this left me in a rather…uncomfortable predicament. If Arabella leaves, Hogwarts will be without a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher in the middle of the school year, and Defence is the most important subject we can teach our students in times like these."

Harry smiled. He could guess quite well what Dumbledore was driving at. And one look at Remus told him that he guessed as well. Harry looked back at Dumbledore as the headmaster continued to speak.

"It has been very difficult to find competent teachers for this delicate position in the past years, nobody knows this better than the three of you. And when I thought about it, I remembered one professor who had not only been more than qualified, but also most popular. Though your knowledge would be missed strongly in the research unit, I think the best way to use it would be to teach it to the students, Remus. What do you think? Are you up to teach at Hogwarts again?"

Remus' smile now nearly reached his ears.

"Of course I am Albus. There's hardly anything I'd rather do."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Fine Remus, I had thought that you would agree. Of course there is still…"

"Wait."

'Oh great.' Harry thought. 'Sirius has finally realized what is going on and now he plays nurse again.'

"Wait, wait, wait. Albus, with all due respect, but I don't think Remus is up to teaching again yet. He nearly died only three months ago, and he's still not his old self. Going back to Hogwarts and teaching would only overtax the little health he has gained in the last couple of weeks. I know how much those students can exhaust their teachers, and I don't even want to think…"

"SIRIUS!"

All heads in the room now turned towards Remus who sat on the edge of his chair and glared daggers at his friend.

"It's enough! I told you yesterday that I can judge for myself what I am up to and what not. And if I say that I feel able to teach again, then you better believe it, because you won't be able to stop me. At first your concern was quite comforting, but by now you're really going on my nerves! You can't put me in a cocoon and hide me from the world forever, have you ever given a thought that I might want to do something eventually? Well, I tell you now that I want to. It is up to me to decide whether I accept Albus' offer or not, and I do. You will have to live with that."

Remus turned back to Dumbledore and ignored Sirius, who sat in his armchair and opened and closed his mouth like a fish that had been pulled out of the water.

"Albus, I guess there are still some things that need to be talked about. First of all, do all the students know by now that I am indeed alive? I have to admit that I don't know how much of it all became public."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I will make an announcement at the first evening back at school. Your stay at the infirmary was kept secret, but afterwards the Daily Prophet had some reports on it. However, we cannot be sure that everybody has gathered the news, and it would surely be better to tell the students about it before you return."

"My lycanthropy? I can imagine that there are a couple of parents who wouldn't want me to teach their children."

"Remus, as I have told you when you resigned three years ago, most of the parents will understand when we explain. The Ministry will not object my decision if I re-install you, and Severus has already agreed to prepare the Wolfsbane Potion for you. With these assurances, I believe that hardly anybody will disagree with you taking the post. And for the few who might protest, I'll offer them to explain it all in person. I don't think that there will be problems with it."

Remus nodded.

"Very good. Albus, I'm more than glad that you asked me to return to Hogwarts. We'll stay in contact, just in case that there is anything more that needs talking about."

"We can talk about the curriculum at the first evening back, Arabella has already prepared the lessons for next month. I think you won't need much time to get reacquainted."

Remus nodded.

"I trust Arabella did a very good job. If that's all, I'll take my leave now. There are some things I still need to do before I prepare myself to leave. Albus, Arabella."

He nodded at his guests and with a last deadly glare at Sirius he left the room and went upstairs. Under his breath, Dumbledore muttered something that sounded astonishingly like 'Now I understand the thing about the mother hen', before he once more turned towards Sirius.

He smiled and shook his head.

"It seems to me that Remus doesn't appreciate it if others make his decisions for him. Maybe you should talk to him about this, I'm sure he'll understand you in the end. Well, this has been all we needed to discuss for now, but we'll stay in close contact. You'll surely meet Arabella more than often from now on. Harry, we'll see each other at the feast on the first evening back, I trust?"

"Sure Professor. Until then. Goodbye Mrs. Figg."

Mrs. Figg smiled.

"Please dear, call me Arabella. I'm not used to being addressed like that and now that I'm not your teacher anymore, I think it's okay if you call me Arabella. It's a pity to lose you all as my students, I really enjoyed teaching you."

Harry nodded.  
"Thank you. But I think we'll meet from time to time if you'll be really working together with Sirius."

"I hope so Harry. Good bye."

"Good bye Arabella."

Both Arabella and Dumbledore said their good byes to Sirius and then vanished again through the fireplace. Harry sighed and relaxed against the back of the sofa.

"Wow."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I've never seen Remus so angry. He looked as if he wanted to curse you on the spot."

Sirius lifted his hands.

"Don't even start it Harry, don't even start it. I think I'll go upstairs now and have a look at how bad it really is. Do me a favour, would you?"

"Sure. What?"

"If I'm not back in an hour, make sure that I get a nice funeral."

"That's not funny, Sirius."

Sirius sighed.

"I know. Sorry."

Sirius got up and walked out of the room, into the hall and upstairs towards Remus' room with all the dignity of somebody soon facing his execution. In front of Remus' room he took a deep breath, summoned all the courage he could and knocked.

No answer.

He sighed and knocked again.

Still, no answer.

"Remus, I know that you're in there. Can I come in?"

"If you think you have to", came the muffled reply from inside.

Sirius opened the door and stepped into the room. Remus was sitting on his desk and wrote something on a piece of parchment.

"Writing a letter?"

'Better to start this nice and slow. No use to risk his wrath unnecessarily.'

"To my father. I wanted to tell him that I move."

Sirius nodded.

"Send him my greetings, will you?"

"What shall I write? Sirius sends his best wishes? Or better: My jailor hopes you are doing well?"

'Okay, back to plan B. Direct confrontation.'

"Look, Remus. I'm sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut down there."

"For sure you should have."

"Remus, could you at least turn around and look at me when we're talking?"

Remus angrily threw his quill onto the parchment, spilling ink all over the letter to his father. He furiously turned around and faced Sirius. His face clearly showed that he was not intending to forgive too easily.

"And what exactly are we talking about, if I might ask?"

Sirius sat down on the bed facing his friend.

"Remus, I'm really sorry about it. It's just…you know…"

"What Sirius? Because I don't know what makes you behave like you do. You're treating me as if I was either an invalid or a little child, neither of which is the case. So tell me Sirius, what the heck is wrong with you?"

Sirius sighed deeply and fell backwards onto the bed. For some moments he stared at the ceiling and searched for the right words, but could find none.

"I don't know how to tell you Remus."

Remus snorted loudly.

"Now that's a first. Sirius Black can't find the right words. I had never thought I'd live to see that day."

Sirius sat up and stared at his friend.

"Remus, I don't think that it's that funny. You want to know why I don't like the idea that you go back to Hogwarts just yet?"

"No, I want to know why you don't like the idea that I get up in the morning and lead a normal life!"

"Remus, when we brought you to Hogwarts that night, you were nearly dead. Madam Pomfrey told me that it would be a close call, and if there is something Madam Pomfrey can't do anything about, it scares the wit out of me. For more than ten hours I sat beside your bed and just didn't know if you would wake up again or not. And there was nothing I could do, simply nothing. But if I had acted earlier, if I had tried to find you, then all this would not have been necessary. Then you would have never had to go through all this.

And when you finally woke up, I promised myself that I would never allow something like this to happen again. I brought you home and I took care of you as good as I could. 

I know you Remus, you can't lie to me. You can't pretend that you're perfectly fine again. I can see that you still tire easily, that there are still movements that hurt you and I can tell that your arm hurts again from time to time. And I don't think that you should pretend nothing had happened and just continue where you were before all this happened. Because you are not up to it. 

And the last thing I want is that you collapse again and that I have to spend more nights in the infirmary, worrying about you. So, now you know."

Remus shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, let's get this from the start. I will only tell you once more that none of what happened was your fault. You thought I was dead and from what Harry has told me you had enough else on your mind than searching for me. There was no sign that I could still be alive. And if you had started searching for me, everybody would only have thought that you had gone completely nuts.

And, as I already told you yesterday, I really appreciate your concern, but you're suffocating me. It's true that I still tire more easily than I did before, but I am able to judge when it's too much for me. And it is true that I felt sore all over after the last full moons, but that was over within the next day. And yes, my arm did hurt again, once, when I tried to lift the boulder in the garden, but that was the only occasion. 

Sirius, I am perfectly aware that I'm not as healthy as I was before all this happened, but believe me that I can judge what is too much for me and what not. And teaching at Hogwarts doesn't fall into the first category.

Do you honestly think that I just want to sit by and watch everybody else do the work? You have your job at the Ministry, Arabella now has a new task at hand, everybody has something to do. Do you want me to sit by and merely watch everybody around me risking their lives?"

"I'd prefer it, yes."

Remus sighed and sat down on the bed beside Sirius.

"Listen to me Sirius. I know that you're worried about me and that everything that happened in the past only increased this concern. But if you look at it from my perspective, then it's rather you that I should worry about. 

When the Death Eaters start acting again, or when Voldemort develops a new plan, you are standing right in the frontline, like every other Auror too. I will only be at Hogwarts. Hardly anything can happen to me there, so I don't understand why you make such a big deal out of it. 

But this is something I have to do, if you understand it or not. 

Sirius, this is my fight just as well as it is yours. It were also my friends who have been killed by Voldemort. It's also my friends and family who are threatened by him. And if there's nothing I can do at the Ministry because of what I am, then the least thing I can do is teach others how to defend themselves against Voldemort. Prepare the children for what they might be facing one day. Preventing that they face it defenceless. 

If this is my task in all this, then I'm more than willing to do it, and I don't need your blessing for it."

Sirius sighed and buried his face in his hands. Of course Remus was right, but still…

"I just don't want anything like this to happen again."

Remus put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder and forced him to look into his eyes.

"Sirius, I cannot guarantee this, nobody can. You know that. When you leave the house in the morning, you can't guarantee that you will still be alive in the evening either. We both know what is at stake here, and what price we'll probably have to pay to reach our aim. But I simply know that we will do anything to prevent something bad from happening. Nevertheless, sometimes things just happen which are out of our control. 

But you know me Sirius, you know that I would never consciously put myself into danger. Which leads me back to the reasons why I should be worried about you…"

Sirius raised a hand and gestured Remus to stop.

"I think I get the message, Moony. But I just can't stop worrying about you."

Remus smiled.

"You don't need to stop worrying about me. You just need to stop taking away my space to breathe. And you'd better start with it, because my patience with you has become very thin. Some of that old Marauder and Mischief Maker spirit is still alive inside of that greying head, and if you don't get back to normal soon, be warned. I'm not afraid to use it."

Sirius laughed.

"I'd love to see that. You wouldn't be able to come up with a plan to trick me, no way!"

"Do you really want to risk it?"

Sirius thought for a moment, then he shook his head. "No, I don't think so." Suddenly, a smile spread across his face. "You know, I slowly understand why everybody always called you the Head of the Marauders. You're quite good with this logic-thing."

"And the fact that you realize this only now shows me why you were never called the Head of us. Ouch!"

Sirius had given his friend a gentle smack on the back of his head and did his best to ignore the accusing looks he received as an answer.

"Thank you, Moony. I think I needed that."

"My pleasure. Come here, you stupid old dog."

Remus smiled and pulled his friend into a warm embrace. Never again parting on non-speaking terms had been a silent promise between the two of them after the events some months ago. And though both of them thought it was a little bit childish, they told themselves that it helped the other. None of them admitted openly that it was more for their own peace of mind than anything else.

"Just promise me that you'll take care, Sirius. You know, I'm quite worried about you as well."

Sirius pulled away and held Remus at arm's length, giving him a mischievous grin.

"As if I'd ever been careless Moony. 'Care' is my middle name."

Remus looked at him in disbelief. 

"I could give you a couple of examples for your carelessness if you'd like."

Sirius snorted.

"No, not really. Save them for Harry, he treasures a good story. Oh, Harry!"

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"What about Harry?"

"Well, I should maybe go down and show him that I'm still alive before he calls the police." With an apologetic shrug, he stood up and went towards the door. "Well, I didn't know what would expect me up here."

Remus laughed.

"Then get better down before he starts making an account of his heritage. I'll tell Dad that you sent your greetings."

"The jailor?"

Remus shook his head.

"No, the stupid old dog."

Sirius laughed.

"Stupid I can accept, but old? What does that make you, silver-head?"

He quickly closed the door before the pillow Remus had thrown could hit him.


	2. Werewolves

**Werewolves**

The rest of the holiday passed rather quickly and soon Harry found himself on the way to King's Cross Station with Sirius. 

Remus had decided to take the train with Harry and his friends, but he had stubbornly refused to get there by motorcycle like Sirius and Harry. This had earned him some snide remarks from Sirius about being scared, but he had quickly answered that he liked his health too much to risk a ride on the Black Bitch. This had shut up Sirius rather effectively and he had started pouting again. Remus had apparated to London.

So Harry was now sitting on said motorcycle in front of his godfather and soared through the morning clouds above London.  He couldn't understand Remus' aversion against the Black Bitch at all, ever since Sirius had been given her back he had wanted to take a ride on her. And now he was actually sitting on the famous motorcycle, his luggage shrunk and in Sirius' pocket, his godfather's left arm protectively around his waist, and soared through the morning sky. Had it not been for the sounds of the powerful machine under them, it would have been like flying a broomstick. Only faster and more comfortable. They landed in a backyard near King's Cross and quickly made their way into the station.

Inconspicuously, they leaned onto the barrier between platform nine and ten and made their way onto platform 9 ¾. Sirius removed the shrinking spell from Harry's trunk and waved it along the platform in search of Remus and Harry's friends.

"Harry! Over here!"

Recognizing Ron's voice immediately, Harry turned his head in search of his friend's unmistakable red hair. He found him near the end of the train, together with Hermione and their parents. Remus was standing next to Arthur and Molly Weasley, talking animatedly with them. Quickly, Harry and Sirius crossed the distance and joined their friends.

Harry found himself enveloped in a greeting hug from Hermione and turned a deep shade of red when Ginny hugged him as well. As he looked up, he saw a broadly grinning Sirius and next to him Remus eyed Harry carefully, as if searching for injuries he could blame on the Black Bitch.

"And Harry, did you enjoy the trip here or did Sirius' driving style convince you of the danger of the Black Bitch?"

Ron stared open mouthed.

"You came here with Sirius' motorcycle? Really? Wow, that's bloody brilliant!"

"Ronald Weasley, mind your language!"

Ron's mother had heard her son's last words and now came to join Sirius, Remus and the children with a very stern expression. Which she quickly turned towards Sirius.

"You really took Harry here with that dangerous thing? Sirius, what if something had happened?"

Sirius quickly turned redder than Harry had and searched for the right words to defend himself. Why did his boots always seem so interesting when Molly had that tone in her voice?

"Really Molly, what could have happened? I didn't let him ride that bike alone, I was driving and he was merely sitting on it. No danger in that, I know how to drive her."

Remus nodded.

"Sure you do. That's why you collided with that tree during our seventh year, I suppose?"

Molly stared at Sirius, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"What?"

The tone of her voice was a mixture of extreme shock, anger and worry for her beloved foster-child. But mostly it was shock.

"That was because I was still experimenting with the flying charm, it's been years ago. Believe me Molly, that bike is working properly, I've taken good care of her. And I really know how to fly her."

"Molly, that's true. Sirius really cares for that bike and keeps it in a good state. When he woke up in the hospital after his crash when he was twenty-one, his first concern was whether the Bike was still okay. And after his broken bones had healed properly, he immediately checked it himself, though the doctor had said that he still needed rest because of that concussion…"  
"Remus! Why don't you take your trunk, get into the train and search for a compartment? Otherwise, your teaching career will be over before it started again."

Sirius' voice sounded as if he could hardly restrain himself from cursing Remus on the spot for telling Molly about his accidents. Remus laughed, took his things, bid Arthur and Molly goodbye and went into the train. When he passed Sirius, he muttered "Can't come up with a good plan to trick you, right? I told you I could. Have a good term and don't get yourself into trouble.", which earned him another light smack on the back of his head.

Molly now looked as if she wanted to adopt Harry on the spot, only to get him out of the hands of this man. Sirius had to stifle a laugh.

"Molly, believe me. Though what Remus has told you is true, he has exaggerated things a little. He simply hates that bike with a passion, so his view on those accidents is a little biased. And don't forget that I was a lot younger then. Do you really think I'd do anything that could endanger Harry after so many years of fighting for him?"

Molly eventually broke into a smile.

"No, of course not Sirius. But I'd be a lot more relaxed if I knew that he didn't ride that motorbike anymore."

"Do you mean I shouldn't get him an own bike for his next birthday?"  
Before Molly found her voice again and could answer, the sound of a whistle indicated that the train would leave in five minutes. Sirius gave Molly an apologetic grin and then turned towards his godson.

"Okay kiddo, have a good term. And keep an eye on Remus for me, will you?"  
"To be honest Sirius, I'm asking myself who will keep an eye on you."

"You've been talking to Remus, haven't you?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and gave Sirius his most innocent smile.

"I talk to him all the time. It just comes along with living in the same house, you know?"

Sirius laughed and pulled Harry into his arms.

"Just take care of yourself, don't get into any serious trouble and maybe take the time to write now and then. If anything unusual happens, go straight to Remus or Albus, okay? I love you Harry."

"I love you too Sirius. And promise to take care as well. No playing hero, no acting without thinking and please, no stupid revenge plans."

"I promise."

"Okay."

They let go of each other, and with a last wave towards Hermione's parents and a handshake and a hug from Arthur and Molly Weasley, Harry climbed into the train and searched for his friends. He found them in a compartment at the end of the train, where Hermione and Remus were already deeply engaged in a discussion about the Defence curriculum. Ron looked up with a thankful gaze when Harry came into the compartment.

"Thanks Merlin that you're finally here Harry. Hermione is already back in school-mode, she doesn't talk about anything but the N.E.W.T.s! The N.E.W.T.s, can you believe that? They're ages away!"

Harry laughed and sat down next to Remus. 

"You're still not used to her after so many years? Ron, that's Hermione, and there is nothing in the world that can change that."

Ron sighed.

"Really nothing? I was still hoping that one of these days they would find a cure."

"No chance Ron. But maybe we should save Remus, don't you think?"

"Yeah, before she makes him want to go back home even before he arrives at the castle."

Harry laughed heartily.

"Oh Ron, you don't know anything. Believe me, not even if Snape decided to teach in a pink dress from now on it could make him want to go back. Because at home he would be faced with the worst of all nightmares: Sirius Black, the mother hen."

Ron looked at his friend as if he had lost his mind.

"What are you talking about, mate? I always thought that they got along with each other quite well."

"Yes, before Sirius decided to transform into a mothering, fretting nurse worse than Madam Pomfrey."  
"Oh my god. That's possible?"

"Yep. Been there, seen it. Ouch!"

Neither Ron nor Harry had realized that Hermione and Remus had ended their conversation and had listened to every word the boys had exchanged. Remus raised an eyebrow and gave Harry a stern look.

"I'd appreciate it very much if you wouldn't talk about me as if I wasn't there. And you'd better watch what you say about your godfather. He's not that bad."

"Well, the day Dumbledore came for a visit you were talking very differently."

"Harry…"

Remus' voice now implied a threatening tone and Harry quickly raised his hands in a gesture of defeat.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything about your difficult patient-caretaker relationship anymore. By the way, are the teachers actually allowed to hit their students?"

Remus smiled sadistically.

"Well, until we arrive at the castle, I'm not your teacher yet. So, as long as this train ride goes on, I'm still your…your – what am I actually?"

All four of them laughed, and then Harry pretended to think very hard.

"Well, I don't know. How about – Uncle Remus?"

"Young man, you're walking on a very thin line…"

"Okay, okay! Then you are my godfather's best friend who lives in the same house than we do and who in addition to that happens to be my professor at school. Now that this won't fit onto any visiting card, we could sum it up to – friend. How about that?"

Remus laughed.

"Well, certainly better than Uncle Remus. A lot better, actually. I always told your mother that I would hex her into next month if she started teaching you anything like this. 

Oh, and by the way: Snape in a pink dress is something you don't want to see. Believe me. I thought I would never get rid of those nightmares again."

Ron and Hermione gaped at their teacher with an expression of awe and respect.

"You didn't really…"

Remus laughed.

"No, I did not. Sirius dared James into doing it. If I remember it right, James also added a nice charm that transfigured the grease Snape calls hair into cute little locks. Unfortunately for good old Severus, James had put a time charm on it, so that for twenty-four hours no counter charm would work. Severus actually had to go to classes like that."

Hermione looked flabbergasted while Harry and Ron could hardly restrain themselves anymore. Ron was the first to regain control over his vocal chords again.

"I had never thought I would hear the words 'Snape' and 'cute' in one sentence together without 'absolutely not' in between."

"Yeah, and I hope I never have to hear them together again. Bad mental image!"

Harry shook his head and made a face in disgust while Remus nearly laughed his head off.

The rest of the train ride practically flew by. Around midday, the old witch with the food tray passed their compartment, and an hour later they were joined by Seamus, Dean and Neville. They spent the afternoon talking about their holidays, about the upcoming term (in Hermione's case), and begging Remus to tell them more stories from his time at school. Far too soon the Hogwarts Express slowed down and drove into Hogsmeade station where the youths bid Remus good bye and climbed into the horseless carriages that would bring them up to the castle. Remus would floo from the Three Broomsticks directly into his office.

"How I'm looking forward to the feast tonight. I just hope there won't be too much talking and more food."

Harry laughed.

"Oh, Ron. Will you ever stop thinking with your stomach?"

Snorting, Ron replied.

"Sure Hermione. On the day you will stop being a human encyclopaedia."

"Ron Weasley, I will only tell you once more: there is nothing wrong with reading books."

"Hey, hey. Ron, Hermione, please stop that. Believe me, I've had enough banters during the holidays to last for a lifetime. How about simply enjoying the feast tonight and worry about our lessons tomorrow when there's time for it?"

Both nodded.

"Fine. Oh, we're there."

Truly, the carriages had arrived in front of the castle and quickly the students climbed off and streamed back into the castle, where they joined those who had stayed over the holidays. After some minutes, the entire student's body was assembled in the Great Hall and waited for the feast to begin.

"Hey Harry!" Ron leaned over towards his friend so that he wouldn't spoil the surprise of their new teacher for the rest of the Gryffindors. Very few had actually seen Remus get on the train in London.

"Where is Remus? Won't he come to the feast? It's not full moon tonight, is it?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, the next full moon is in twenty three days." 

Inwardly, Harry was surprised how quickly he had adopted keeping an eye on the lunar circle. Ever since Remus had moved in with Sirius, Harry had paid attention to when the full moon was and every morning after the full moon he had written an owl home and asked about Remus' wellbeing. More than once he had thought that this was like it must have been for his father and Sirius when they had been back at school. Counting down the days till the next transformation and then worrying about Remus' recovery. Month after month.

"However, Dumbledore first wanted to announce that he is alive and back to teach here, just in case that there are still some students who have not gathered it from the papers. Otherwise it would be quite a shock if he all of a sudden sat on the teacher's table as if nothing had happened, don't you think?"

Ron grinned.

"Yeah, but it would be a lot more fun."

Harry had no chance to reply, for at that moment Dumbledore rose from his seat and the Great Hall immediately fell silent. Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked at the hundreds of heads that were turned in his direction.

"Good evening. I'm glad that you all have returned after what I hope has been a restful holiday for you. The welcome feast will begin in a couple of minutes, but I have to make one announcement before that.

I guess that most of you have already heard the news, but as there are those amongst you who are quite cut off from the wizarding world during their holidays, I thought it would be better to announce it again. Especially since not much of it has been in the papers at all.

I am more than glad to tell you that your former Professor Remus Lupin indeed is alive."

Like Harry had guessed, there were only few astonished faces amongst the students. Dumbledore continued.

"But that's not all I have to tell you. As you might have noticed, your Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Figg, has not returned to teach this term. Due to the situation at the Ministry, which at the moment undergoes some drastic changes and re-organization, she has decided that her knowledge would be of more help there. This decision has been made during the holidays, and Professor Figg has asked me to tell you that she is very sad to leave. She said that she really enjoyed teaching all of you.

However, this of course left me in quite a predicament, for Defence is a lesson we absolutely need to teach you. I am more than glad to announce that Remus Lupin has agreed to return to Hogwarts to take up his old post as the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher."

Dumbledore quickly went to the door of the small ante-chamber behind the Great Hall, opened it and escorted Remus to the teacher's table. After some moments of stunned silence, the Hall burst into a deafening applause. Sure, Mrs. Figg had been a popular teacher, but even she could not compete with the popularity of Remus Lupin. Remus smiled and waved at the Gryffindor table, where Harry and Ron clapped wildly.

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil stared open mouthed at their classmates. 

"You knew about that?" Lavender exclaimed. 

Harry grinned his broadest smile and had already decided to leave Lavender in the dark about the source of his knowledge, when Ron blurted it out.

"Well, you can't hide something like this if you're living in the same house, can you?"

Lavender's and Parvati's chins synchronously dropped even farther. 

"What???"

Harry's grin grew even wider. It was so obvious that Lavender and Parvati were a bit taken by their Professor and envied him greatly for living together with him. Somehow, Harry could understand them. Ever since Remus knew the truth about who had betrayed his parents, since Sirius was no longer a fugitive and also, though Remus would never admit it, since Sirius had taken care of him, Remus' physical appearance had improved a lot. He had lost his haunted look, and though his hair was still greying it seemed to be fuller. He also didn't look as haggard anymore. All in all, one could nearly describe him as 'handsome', and he definitely drew more attention towards him then he had done three years ago.

Harry was already looking forward to the next conversation with Sirius via the fireplace in Remus' office. He simply had to tell him about this, even though Sirius wouldn't let Remus live it down.

Dumbledore once more cleared his throat.

"Most of you will of course still remember Professor Lupin and also the reasons why he gave up that position in the first place. We have agreed that it is of no use to keep it all secret from the younger students this time. I'd like to ask all of you to listen carefully to what I say right now, and rest assured that Professor Lupin as well as myself are always there for further information if your parents or you need it, this goes especially to the students in third year and below.

Professor Lupin unfortunately suffers from lycanthropy, an illness which forces him to become what most of you know as a werewolf for once a month."

The sharp intakes of breath could be heard all across the hall, coming from most of the students in third year and below who had not been there when Remus had first taught at Hogwarts. Dumbledore silenced the students before they could engage themselves too deep into discussions about those news. Harry watched Remus, who looked rather uncomfortable in this situation, and then threw a glance at Snape, who had a smug and satisfied grin on his face.

'Trust him to like that.' He shook his head and turned his attention back to the headmaster. But before Dumbledore could continue, Remus put an arm on his shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Dumbledore nodded and stepped back, leaving Remus in the centre of attraction. He smiled shyly and then started to talk.

"I am sure that there are many questions, especially amongst those who have not been there when I first taught here three years ago. 

Rest assured that my lycanthropy does not influence me on twenty-nine days a month. During that time, I'm just a normal person like any other of your professors." He ignored the snort coming from Snape. "Rest assured that precautions have been taken for the one day of the month when my disease truly affects me. I will be neither in the castle nor even on the castle grounds during those nights, and Professor Snape has kindly agreed to prepare a potion for me to make sure that I am no danger to any of you.

There have been slight adjustments to your schedules, so that there won't be any Defence lessons on the days of full moon.

If there are any more questions, you are most welcome to pose them directly during my office hours. The same goes for your parents, should they be concerned.

I am really glad to be back to teach you again."

He sat down and once again, the Great Hall broke into applause. Harry saw that most of the Slytherins looked flabbergasted at the teacher's table, as if they could not understand what was going on. Three years ago, they had given Remus a very hard time and when his secret had been finally revealed, there had been no Slytherin who had not demanded his removal from the job. This, amongst others, had been one of the reasons why Remus had decided to leave.

Harry let his gaze stray aimlessly through the Great Hall and nearly choked on his pumpkin juice when it fell on Lavender and Parvati. Both of their faces had turned a deeper shade of red than Ron's hair and they were staring at Remus with dreamy expressions on their faces.

'Sirius is going to love this', Harry thought before he turned back towards his dinner.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Soon, the Gryffindor sixth years fell back into their usual routine. 

Ron complained that Hermione spent far too much time in the library, preparing not only for the end of the year exams, but also developing a revision system for the N.E.W.T.s.

Hermione was concerned that Ron didn't pay enough attention to his studies, a complaint she had had about him ever since first year. Ron's preparation for the end of the year exams consisted of saying that they were still ages away, and his preparations for the N.E.W.T.s consisted of completely denying their existence. 

The rest of the Gryffindors smiled at their antics, to most of them it was crystal clear that Ron and Hermione were cut out to be together, and everybody only waited for them to get together. 

Ginny Weasley had obviously spent too much time in the company of her older brothers Fred and George, because she came up with the idea to establish a betting system on when Ron and Hermione would eventually become a couple. Harry sincerely hoped that it would be before Valentine's day, he would earn 10 galleons if that happened. Maybe he should use his connections to the objects of the bet…

Lavender and Parvati behaved very strange ever since that first night back after the holidays. They always stuck their heads together, unusually often they were bent over a Divination book and – much to Harry's distress – they giggled. If there was anything about girls which Harry truly didn't understand, then it was the urge to giggle. Not that he understood very much about them anyway.

Harry had made the mistake to ask Hermione about Lavender's and Parvati's behaviour and had found himself in a tirade about how much those two disturbed her precious night time sleep with their whispering and giggling. But obviously only Harry had realized who the object of their desire was. He had told Ron about this, and ever since then they both found the expectation to tell Sirius and Remus about this very entertaining. But that would have to wait until the first Saturday evening after the new term had begun. And until then, the sixth years would have two DADA lessons, one on Wednesday and one on Friday morning.

The amount of DADA and Potions lessons had been doubled this year, in the hope to prepare the students as good as possible for probable Death Eater attacks they could face one day.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

On Wednesday morning, Remus entered the room and smiled at his students. The sixth year Gryffindors, the class he had been looking forward to teach. Though Remus was deeply devoted to avoid all kind of favouritism, he couldn't help but enjoy teaching Harry and his friends.

He clapped his hands and leaned on his desk.

"Good morning everybody, it's good to be back. Now, from what Arabella told me, you are nearly finished with Dark Creatures, and if I'm not much mistaken, there is only one topic to finish before we can move on towards counter curses and magical first aid. So, who can tell me something about werewolves?"

He smiled smugly as he saw several jaws drop in front of him. Like he had expected, Hermione's hand rose into the air. Her answer however, came most unexpected.

"Erm, Professor Lupin, are you sure about this? I mean – with you being a werewolf and all…"

Remus smiled and gestured her to stop.

"Mrs. Granger, rest assured that I don't have any problems teaching this to you. And, who could be better to teach you something about werewolves than a werewolf himself? Now, let's do some brainstorming. What do you know about werewolves?"

Again, Hermione's hand rose in the air. He smiled and nodded at her.  
"Well, the curse is transferred by the bite of a werewolf. The person who gets bitten from that day on changes into a werewolf himself every full moon."

Remus nodded.

"Correct. What else? Mr. Longbottom?"

"Silver k-k-kills werewolves."

Neville's voice was barely audible and his face showed how much he was afraid that Remus might jump at him and rip him into pieces for mentioning this. But again, Remus only nodded and smiled reassuringly at his student.

After some minutes of brainstorming, during which Remus had a very hard time convincing Seamus that garlic didn't have any effect on a werewolf except giving bad breath, Remus leaned back onto his desk again.

"I see that Arabella has taught you a lot about the distinction between a wolf and a werewolf and about the characteristic traits of those who were cursed. However, I am convinced that there are some things which nobody who doesn't suffer from it himself can teach you.

The most important thing I want you to learn is this: if you ever, under any circumstances, are confronted with a werewolf during a full moon night, do not hesitate to stun or kill it. Having me as a teacher might be able to convince you that werewolves are normal people most of the time, but during this one night they are extremely dangerous.

I don't tell you this to scare you or to feed your prejudices, but it is important that you understand it. I know all of you, I have taught you for some time already, and I like you all. But if you would ever encounter me on a full moon, I would not hesitate to kill you. For the wolf you would be nothing more than human prey.

So, as I said, if you ever come to face a werewolf, don't stop and think about what person it might be in his human form, because this could cost you precious seconds and probably your life. Werewolves are dark creatures and you shouldn't believe anything else, even if you know the person who turns into the wolf. 

Now, does any of you have a question? Just shoot ahead, there's nothing you can't ask."

Some moments of silence followed and Remus could tell quite clearly that all of them seemed to have questions they didn't dare to ask. Well, all except from Harry, but that was only because even if he still had questions, which Remus seriously doubted, he would pose them another time, privately. 

Dean however seemed to be struggling extremely hard.

"Mr. Thomas, it appears to me that you have a question."

"Well…yes Professor. Erm…have you ever…I mean…bitten somebody?"

Harry inwardly flinched, knowing fully well that this was a very delicate topic for Remus. But Remus only smiled kindly.

"There's nothing wrong with that question Mr. Thomas. And to answer it: no, fortunately I have never bitten somebody. Ever since I myself have been bitten, which happened when I was only five years old, my parents and later your headmaster have made sure that I was locked away safely during full moon nights.

And though during my time at school, I had a tendency to rule breaking and trouble causing, I was lucky and never got close enough to another human being to be a danger for him. Though I have to admit that there were some close calls.

Being a werewolf means also to bear a responsibility. Knowing fully well what being a lycanthrope implies, I take extreme care not to make anybody else suffer from the curse."

"Does it hurt?"

Parvati immediately turned a deep shade of scarlet, as if she had not meant to say that out loud. Again, Remus only smiled at her.

"Yes, Ms. Patil, it hurts. The transformations are extremely painful, and being locked away of course takes away the possibility for the wolf to hunt. In this case, it develops a tendency to hurt itself, which naturally slows down the recovery. I'd like to show you my scar collection, but I'm afraid the show closes at nine."

He smiled at the shocked faces in front of him.

"Oh, snap out of it. I've long come to terms with the implications of that curse for my life, so there really is no reason for you to be embarrassed about it. What I am trying to do here is to show you that on the one hand, somebody who suffers from lycanthropy is a normal person for most of the month. But I have to make you understand that this all changes as soon as the wolf surfaces. Werewolves are amongst the most dangerous dark creatures, and they either kill you or turn you into a dark creature yourself.

And because I know that there are areas, especially in eastern Europe, where quite a few werewolves exist and run free every full moon night, you need to learn how to act when being confronted with one. Which brings me back to where I started: either stun it or, to be on the safe side, kill it."

At that moment, the bell rang the end of the lesson. Remus looked up.

"Well, for next lesson write an essay about the ways to kill a werewolf. Two rolls of parchment, with references. That's all, you can leave now."

Slowly, the Gryffindor sixth years left the classroom, obviously inwardly discussing what they were to make of that unusual lesson. Harry gestured Ron and Hermione to walk ahead and remained in the classroom while Remus collected his things into his bag.

"Do you think that was wise, Remus?"

Remus looked up and gave Harry a questioning look.

"What do you mean? I am supposed to teach you this."

"Remus, I know exactly how much all those prejudices bother you, why do you keep telling us that you are dark and need to be killed? I simply don't understand you."

Remus put down his briefcase, leaned on the edge of his desk and watched Harry with his arms crossed over his chest and a very firm expression on his face.

"Harry, I had thought that you of all people would understand what I said. Do you remember the only time you've seen me transform so far? The night you first met Sirius? Harry, if Sirius had not been there that night, I would have killed Ron, Hermione and you without hesitation, even though I knew you, even though I liked you very much.

I'm not trying to feed any prejudices here, I'm merely trying to make you see the truth. That I am no monster for twenty-nine days a month, but that I am also no human for this one night. And to make you able to defend yourselves, I have to teach you how to kill a werewolf. 

You also know how to kill a human being, so why does this bother you so much?"

Harry shook his head. 

"It's not the fact that you teach us how to kill a werewolf, it's the way you talk about yourself. As if being a werewolf was…was…"

"A part of my life?" Remus offered. "Because Harry, that's exactly what it is. I of course could try to hide it from the world like I've done for so many years, but to be honest, it didn't lead me anywhere. After everything that has happened to me during the past months, I've learned again to treasure my life and everything that comes along with it. Which includes my lycanthropy. 

But I know one thing: I could not live with the knowledge that I have bitten or killed somebody. And to make sure that this doesn't happen, I do not only lock myself away when I am dangerous, but I also teach you how to defend yourself, should ever the need arise. 

And Harry – if you ever encounter me again on a full moon and this time Sirius is not there to protect you, I do expect you to use what you have learned. I want you to promise that."

Harry thought for a moment.

"I could never kill you, Remus."

Remus sighed.

"Then you have a serious problem, because I could kill you. Harry, you have to promise me that you'd at least stun me in such a situation. Stun me and then try to get away as fast as possible. Promise me that Harry."

Harry shook his head but finally looked up and sighed.

"Well, I can promise to stun you in such a situation, yes."

Remus nodded.

"Thank you Harry. And now maybe you should try to get to the Great Hall before lunchtime is over."

"Okay. See you on Friday then, bye Remus."

"Bye. Oh, and Harry?"

Harry was already halfway through the door, but turned around again.

"Yes?"

"I nearly forgot. If you want to talk to Sirius, come into my office at three o'clock on Saturday. He said he'd call through the fireplace then."

Suddenly remembering what he had been looking forward to ever since coming back to school, Harry smiled at his friend and teacher.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to miss it, believe me. There's something I bet Sirius would die to know."

Remus raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Harry only winked and vanished through the door.

'Teenagers', thought Remus as he collected his files back into his briefcase and left the classroom to grab some lunch himself.


	3. Insomnia

_Hi there and thanxs for all the reviews already. I'll give you the third chapter now and not on Monday, because right now I'm sick and bored and I don't know if I'll find the time next week. University started again and that means a lot of stress for me lately. But – that's not why you're here, is it? _

_Leonie__: Danke für den tollen review! Ich freu mich, dass es Dir soweit gefällt, und glaube mir, dass ist erst das Vorgeplänkel. Obwohl es wesentlich lustiger geworden ist, als ich es mir gedacht hatte. Aber glaube mir, wenn es erst mal losgeht, wird es leider nicht mehr so viel zu lachen geben. Danke für das tolle Kompliment!_

_Mrs. Moony__: Good to have you back! Glad you liked it so far. And believe me, when Sirius finds out, he'll be very amused (I think it's even in this chapter…). But wait until Remus finds out about Lavender and Parvati, that'll even be more fun…!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Didn't changer your name yet, did you? Well…*sigh* Good that you don't remember the original chapters, they weren't good at all. And – more Sirius/Remus banter ahead, I promise._

_Eva__: Glad you liked it, really am. And I promise that there's more ahead…you'll see. Poor Remus, poor Sirius – oh, did I say that out loud…OOOPS!_

_Evil Spapple Pie__: Here you go – Sirius' reaction to the 'news' is in this chapter! And as for him being over-protective, well, he has his reasons. Of course Remus takes the Wolfsbane, but is he save just because of that? Well, we'll have to wait and see…_

_A. Reader__: Thank you so much! I also liked that Garlic-part, I could really depict Remus desperately trying to explain it to Seamus. I mean, he's the one who always blows up things in the movie, isn't he? He just seemed to fit for this little piece of incompetence. Till next time then, I'll take your word on it._

_SilverWolf__: *snickers back* FUN? Haven't read my other story, have you? Well, I admit that right now it is mostly fun, but unfortunately soon the fun will be over. Why? Go ahead an read…_

_As Always – keep on reviewing, it's always a pleasure to open the page and see that someone has left a remark about the story. Next chapter will be up in about a week after this. As for now:_

_Enjoy!_

Insomnia 

Harry very reluctantly wrote the essay about the ways to kill a werewolf. He knew that Remus would treat him like any other student if he didn't hand in his homework, and what Harry really didn't want was starting his new term with a detention.

So on Thursday afternoon, he sat down in the library with Ron, and both started filing through the huge and dusty volumes on werewolves and other dark creatures.

They worked in silence until after an hour Ron sighed and raised his head.

"Those books are weird if you ask me. So far, I've found two ways to kill a werewolf – Avada Kedavra it, or get silver into its blood system somehow. And I've found those after five minutes. The rest they write about appear to be rather ways to torture a werewolf before you finally kill it. I don't think that Professor Lupin would want to know about that."

Harry sighed, he had been facing the same problem.

"Yes, but you can't come up with two rolls of parchment if you only write about silver and Avada Kedavra. How about searching for some more information on what effects them in their human form?"

Ron nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. We could write about the effect of silver on a werewolf in his human form and then a paragraph or two on why it is more difficult to kill them than to kill other human beings."

Harry nodded and with this new plan they went back to work, until they were once again interrupted. This time by a well-known drawling voice.

"Well, well. I wouldn't have thought that especially you would search for ways to defend yourself against that werewolf. I always thought that your godfather kind of kept him as a pet."

Normally Ron was the hot-tempered of the two, but this time it was Harry's family that was made fun of. Without thinking he jumped off his chair and grabbed the collar of Malfoy's robes.

"Now listen very carefully, Malfoy. Though I know exactly what role you played during my rescue, I also have not forgotten that I got into this situation due to you in the first place. So don't expect me to restrain myself towards you in any way. And believe me, if you say one more word against Sirius or Remus, you'll regret it."

He let go of Malfoy's robes and turned away from the Slytherin. Of course, Malfoy didn't give up that easily.

"Nice speech Potter. Really touching. Developed a liking for our poor cursed Professor during the holidays, didn't you? Well, I didn't expect something else in a household where The Boy Who Just Doesn't Die, the monster-scum and that half-blood of a convict fret their existence. If the right people were in charge at the Ministry, your holiday arrangements would look a little different, believe me. Azkaban is supposed to be nice in the summer, so I've heard. But surely your precious godfather has already told you that, he ought to know. And believe me, the next time that he meets the Dementors, they'll surely have a little kiss for him. Maybe for the werewolf too, though I doubt that there is much human soul left in him anyway.

Nice guardians your parents have chosen. But I bet that if your mother had known what would become of you, she'd have thought twice before she sacrificed herself for you. But you can't really expect a straight line of thought like that from a mudblood bi…"

Malfoy didn't even see the blow coming. All he heard was the cracking sound with which Harry's fist connected with his jaw, then flames of pain shot through his head. Malfoy sank to his knees, his hands pressed firmly at his face, his breathing laboured by the pain. He tried to tell Potter that he would pay for doing this but found that it was too painful to even move his jaw.

Harry bent over Malfoy, his green eyes flaming with a fury that made even Ron step back from his friend.

"You will never, never ever, say something like this about my family again, understand that Malfoy? Both Sirius and Remus are better wizards and better men than you can ever expect to become, and don't you dare to lose another word about my mother, do you get that?

I know all about you Malfoy, keep that in mind. I know your dirty little secret and if you know what is good for you, you stop bothering me or my friends. Just because you helped me in a moment of teenage rebellion, I will not tolerate you saying something like this."

"Mr. Potter! What in Merlin's name has happened here?"

Harry and Ron looked up and saw a furious Madam Pince standing in front of them, her hands in her hips. When Harry stepped aside a little and she got a free look on Draco Malfoy, who still knelt on the floor and held his jaw, she let out a cry.

"Mr. Malfoy, what has happened to you? Oh my, that could be a broken jaw! I'll immediately bring you to Madam Pomfrey."

The librarian put a supporting arm around Malfoy's shoulders and guided him towards the door. On her way, she turned around once more towards Harry and Ron.

"I don't know which one of you did this, but believe me that I will inform Professor McGonagall about it."

With this, she left the library and shut the door behind her. Ron turned towards his friend, his brown eyes full with disbelief.

"Harry, what's gotten into you? We'll be in so much trouble."

Harry raised a hand to calm his friend.

"Ron, I'll tell McGonagall that you had nothing to do with this."

"I am not worried whether I could get into trouble, I am worried about you. I have never seen you so furious before, you really scared me."

Harry shook his head.

"I'm sorry Ron. He just shouldn't have said that. He can say about me whatever he wants, not that I care. But he has no right to talk about Remus and Sirius like that, not after all they've been through. And I don't even mention that it was his father who caused all that. And then he has the nerves to say something like this about my mother! He's earned far more than just that one hit."

Ron stared at the wall, his eyes focussed on nothing in particular.

"You will be in so much trouble for this, Malfoy will pretend that his jaw is hurt far worse than it actually is."

"Well, if it makes him shut up, I'll live with that."

Ron couldn't answer this, for at that moment Professor McGonagall literally stormed into the library. The amount of anger on her face matched Harry's expression from some minutes ago.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley! Could you please inform me why I just met Madam Pince in the hall, who was guiding Draco Malfoy to the hospital wing? Especially I would be interested in the reasons why Mr. Malfoy obviously suffers from a broken jaw. What can you tell me about this?"

Harry sighed and made one step towards the head of his house.

"Ron had nothing to do with it, Professor. Malfoy came here and wanted to provoke me. He said something he should not have said and got what he deserved."

McGonagall angrily shook her head.

"And what did he say? I can't imagine anything that would justify something like what you've done, Mr. Potter."

"With all due respect Professor, but I'd rather not repeat what Malfoy said. That's something between him and me."

McGonagall obviously wasn't satisfied with that explanation and turned towards Ron.

"Mr. Weasley? Can you tell me something more about this?"

Ron shook his head. 

"No Professor, I'm afraid not."

McGonagall nodded.

"Very well. Mr. Potter, for this enormous disrespect of the school rules, I'll deduct fifty points from Gryffindor. You'll serve detention, every night for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow. I'd have expected better from you. Mr. Weasley, I will talk to Mr. Malfoy about your involvement. If he confirms that you have not been involved in this incident, then I'll let you go unpunished. If not, we'll have to talk about this again."

With this, she turned around and left the library without another furious glance at her students. Harry stared at the empty space where his professor had stood moments ago.

"Malfoy better tells her that you really didn't do anything."

And without another word, Harry packed his things together and left the library. Ron stared after his friend, still not knowing exactly what he had just witnessed.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry stormed back into Gryffindor Tower. To be honest, he didn't know himself what had driven him to hit Malfoy like that. Normally he had far better self-restraint and he was the one who had to hold Ron back before he did something stupid. But Malfoy had simply made him so angry, more furious than ever before. Not only had this slimy little bastard insulted the only two people who had ever been close to resemble parental figures for him, no, he had also dared to make fun of his mother! That had simply been too much.

Without even realizing it, Harry had now arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. He quickly gave the password to her, walked through the Common Room without stopping once and ran up the stairs into his dormitory. 

It was only past seven in the evening, but as he lay down on his bed, he thought that maybe going to sleep sounded like a very good idea. He ha not slept well ever since he had arrived back at the castle, every morning he seemed to be even more tired than the evening before. So far, he had blamed it on the amount of sleep he had gotten, because he had gone to bed truly late every evening. 

Maybe it would be a good idea to go to sleep earlier than usual, and so Harry quickly moved into his pyjamas and climbed onto his four-poster.

He would worry about his punishment and what Remus and Sirius would have to say about this when he woke up in the morning.

He extinguished the lights and fell back into the comfortable January-evening darkness that surrounded the dormitory. Within minutes, his eyes were closed and he had fallen asleep.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The darkness of his dormitory vanished as soon as Harry closed his eyes. He relaxed into the mattress and allowed himself to drift into a light slumber, then into sleep. 

Soon he felt as if he was walking on a very foggy field, instead of the comfortable darkness of his dormitory he was surrounded by a cloudy greyness. For a moment he thought that something had moved within the shadows around him, but when he looked at the spot where he had seen the movement, he could detect nothing at all. 

Harry tried to relax once more, but as soon as he started drifting again, he heard a voice call his name. He knew the voice, but he couldn't place it at the moment. The voice called his name, but he didn't want to listen. He had just lain down, he wanted to sleep. The voice would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Harry."

Harry moaned and turned away from the source of the voice. He wanted to sleep, couldn't the other see that?

"Harry, you have to wake up. Harry!"

It was Ron's voice. Harry realized that he was drifting more and more into consciousness again. Now that he was nearly awake, he might as well have a look to what Ron wanted.

"HARRY!"

"Mmmphh. M'awake."

Slowly, Harry opened one eye and was startled when he found the dormitory alight with what appeared to be daylight. Quickly he opened another eye and sat up. Ron sighed.

"Finally. I already thought that I needed to bring a bucket of water to wake you up. You have to hurry, otherwise you'll miss breakfast and be late for DADA."

Harry shook his head.

"What? But Ron, I've just lain down, and it was only seven o'clock then!"

Ron raised an eyebrow, confusion showing clearly on his face.

"Harry, that was nearly thirteen hours ago. Are you alright?"

Harry got up and quickly changed into his robes.

"I guess I am. Don't get enough sleep lately, I suppose."

"If you say so. You're sure it's got nothing to do with You-Know-Who?"

Harry laughed.

"Ron, relax. I'm just tired, my scar didn't do a thing lately. Really, I only need some sleep, but I'll try to catch up this weekend."

He gave his friend another reassuring smile and together they left Gryffindor Tower to get themselves some breakfast. Hermione already waited for them at the Gryffindor table and she gave Harry a very concerned look when he sat down next to her.

"Where have you been? You're late."

"I slept in and it took Ron some time to wake me up. That's all."

Hermione merely raised an eyebrow.

"You sure there's nothing else you want to tell me? Like why Pansy Parkinson tells everybody that you nearly killed Draco Malfoy yesterday evening, for example?"  
Harry sighed.

"I didn't 'nearly kill' him, I only hit him once. And that had been his own fault, he should have kept his mouth shut, then nothing would have happened. And spare me the lecture, I've already received one from McGonagall and I'm sure Remus and Sirius will have their share of words with me as well as soon as they get to know this."

With this, he stuffed some toast into his mouth and the three went on  their way towards the DADA classroom.

They sat down on their usual desks in front of the class and pulled out their essays. Harry had intentionally wanted to look at his essay once again, maybe even add a paragraph in which he explained why stunning a werewolf was better than killing it right away, but his early retirement had not allowed it. He wasn't really satisfied with his essay, but he'd hand it in anyway.

Next to him, Hermione wondered whether her four rolls of parchment were enough and Ron mouthed something that looked astonishingly like 'she's at it again' towards Harry.

The next moment, Remus entered the classroom and went straight behind his desk.

"Good morning. The fact that nobody came to my office and asked for help with the essay tells me that you've all finished it? Yes? Good. Please hand it in at the end of the lesson. If I get the feeling that there are still some things you didn't understand, we'll hold another double lesson on werewolves next week, but today I wanted to start on something new.

I know that you were unfortunate enough to have a different Defence teacher every year, and during your second year – how should I say – received no qualified instructions at all. But nevertheless, you've had lessons on all the subjects required.

You've learned the basic duelling and disarming spells, have learned about magical creatures, about curses and counter curses, you know about the Unforgivables and last term you've learned about Dark Creatures and ways to defend against them. Now we'll come to something completely different, but nevertheless important.

In case that you are engaged in a wizard's duel, or whatever fight or brawl else, you'll hopefully remember what you have learned to defend yourselves. However, in case that none of your defence techniques will not work, or in case that you receive a physical or magical injury, you'll need knowledge in first aid to help yourself. Until the end of the year I'll try to teach you how to treat physical injuries with healing charms and potions. 

From next week on, Madam Pomfrey will support me with this and we'll hold classes in the infirmary. After Easter we'll cover advanced Healing Potions which you'll prepare yourselves in your Potions lessons. I can already announce that at the end of the year, we won't have a written exam, but a practical test. Each one of you will be confronted with one of the situations we'll cover during the next months, and it'll be your task to examine the situation and use the appropriate healing spell or prepare the correct potion. 

But – it's far too early for the details now. As today is a single lesson, we can't start on anything really complicated. Besides, I would like to have Madam Pomfrey at my side when we cover the care of the more dangerous injuries. So for today, how about some basic healing charms?  
Anybody who volunteers as my first victim?"

Lavender's and Parvati's hands immediately shot into the air. Harry looked at Ron and both had a hard time to suppress their laughter. Ron bent over to Harry and whispered: 'I bet they are hoping on a mouth-to-mouth-respiration.'

Harry quickly looked away before he would snort out loud. 

Remus meanwhile stared somewhat puzzled at the two girls, but then nodded towards Lavender.

"Ms. Brown, would you please come up here?"

Giving Parvati a victorious grin, Lavender quickly rose from her seat and stepped next to Remus, batting her eyelashes. Though Remus obviously still didn't know what to think of this, he did his best to ignore Lavender's weird behaviour and spent the rest of the lesson with putting various little curses on her to demonstrate the basic healing spells. 

Harry did his best to try and pay attention, but either he was fighting hard not to fall asleep on the spot, or he had to look out of the window in order not to laugh out loud. Lavender was bathing in Remus' attention and Parvati watched every single of their moves with an expression that would have made a mountain troll back away. She was obviously jealous above all else.

Soon the single DADA lesson was over and Harry hurried to make his way out of the classroom. He was not sure, but he could guessed that Remus until now knew what had happened the previous night.

"Harry, could you wait for a moment please?"

Harry sighed and turned around again, putting his bag onto the nearest desk. Ron gave him a sympathizing look as he passed him, but Harry only shrugged. Remus closed the door behind Ron and turned towards Harry, his face bearing an very stern expression. He sat down on the desk opposing Harry.

"So Harry, is there something you want to tell me?"

Harry laughed harshly.

"I guess you already know what has happened yesterday. Malfoy couldn't keep his big mouth shut and I lost control. I didn't realize that I had hit him as hard as I obviously did."

Remus shook his head.

"Harry, Malfoy had a broken jaw!"

"Oh come on Remus, Madam Pomfrey can mend broken bones with a flick of her wand."

"That doesn't matter Harry. A broken jaw is a broken jaw. And though Madam Pomfrey has mended it, it still remains a serious injury, and not an injury he received during a Quidditch match, but an injury you inflicted on him. You are lucky that Professor McGonagall only took points from Gryffindor and gave you detention, she could just as well have expelled you. And I'd really like to know what made you do this."

"Remus, that's really not important. He said something he should not have said, but what it was is not important."

Remus shook his head.

"Well, don't tell me if you don't want to. But Sirius won't let you get away so easily, believe me."

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I could extinguish the fire."

Harry grinned at his small joke, but was startled when Remus gave him a somewhat sympathizing look.

"Well, you see, it's like this. Sirius called me this morning to tell me that he changed his plans. The Ministry thinks they got a hint that the remaining Death Eaters try to assemble in the north of Scotland, and some units are sent there to investigate. He doesn't know how long he'll be away, so he wanted to come here to say good bye tomorrow."

Harry's face fell.

"And you had nothing better to do than telling him what happened yesterday, had you?"

Remus sighed.

"Harry, he would have gotten to know anyway. Better get through with it as soon as possible. But, as I said, I don't expect him to accept your story as easily as I did. He'll want to know your reasons, you better prepare for that."

"You know Remus, it's really great that you are teaching here again. That way, everything I do automatically finds its way to Sirius. I couldn't imagine something better than that!"

With this, Harry turned around and stormed out of the classroom without as much as another glance at Remus.

Remus sighed and for some long moments stared at the door. Ever since Minerva had told him about the incident in the library, he had tried to find an explanation for Harry' behaviour. But no way he could imagine Harry to lose control just like that. The boy had always seemed rather shy and withdrawn, normally Ron was the one of them who easily lost control. It was just so unlike Harry.

With another shake of his head, Remus collected the essays from his desk and made his way to his office. He didn't have another lesson until late in the afternoon, so he'd use that time to mark the werewolf papers.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"And Harry, what did Professor Lupin want?"

Ron had waited for Harry on their way to Herbology, but Harry only waved his hand at his friend.

"Don't even ask. That was part one of the 'why-on-earth-did-you-hit-poor-Draco-Malfoy' lecture. And part two will follow soon, because Sirius has decided to make an appearance tomorrow."

"Wow, do you think it will really be that bad?"

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know. But knowing Sirius, he won't let go until I tell him why I hit Malfoy."

Ron's brow furrowed.

"And, why don't you just tell him? I mean, that rat insulted him, Remus and your mother, he'll surely understand what you did."

Harry shook his head.

"Sirius doesn't need to know everything, Ron. But with Remus teaching here, there's no way to keep anything from him. Let's not talk about this now, I'll try not to think about Sirius until he comes here tomorrow."

Ron stifled a laugh.

"Harry Potter finally discovers the fine details of family life. Believe me, it's rather difficult to have secrets from your family anyway."

"Yeah, but my godfather's best friend is my teacher, that's something else than having elder brothers at the same school. Especially since your elder brothers had nothing but mischief in their heads themselves. But Remus somehow thinks that it is his job to mother me while I'm here. Really, to think that he complained about Sirius' over protectiveness only a couple of days ago!"

Harry shook his head.

"Really, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's get over with Herbology, get over with detention for me, then have a nice and comfortable evening in the Common Room and a good night's sleep."

Ron laughed.

"Yes, and the way you looked this morning you could really do with some sleep."

At that moment, they reached the greenhouses and stepped inside to get through with the lesson.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Herbology stretched endlessly as it seemed, and more than once Harry had to stifle a yawn. It was difficult for him to pay attention to what Professor Sprout was saying, the urge to sleep was nearly overwhelming by now. 

Ron watched his friend with increasing concern, ready to shake him awake should he really fall asleep on the spot.

When Professor Sprout closed the lesson, Ron and Harry walked back to the castle to get themselves some lunch.

"And Harry, does the fresh air help to get you awake? You looked as if you would fall asleep any moment in there."

"Not really. I don't know why, but I'm getting more and more tired."

"Maybe you should go and see Madam Pomfrey."

Both boys turned around when they heard Hermione's voice. Their friend had finished her conversation with Lavender and had quickly caught up with them.

"I don't know Hermione. It's only a lack of sleep, nothing to be bothered about."

Hermione shook her head.

"But you don't have a reason for a lack of sleep as far as I know. Not like me, I swear if Parvati and Lavender don't keep quiet tonight, I'll turn them into slugs. Whoever they are fawning about, it's slowly going on my nerves.

'Don't you think he's sooooo cute…'

'Have you seen the way he looked at me today?'

I swear, if I ever find out who this ominous object of their desire is, I'll go and tell him, only to get my peaceful sleep back."

Ron and Harry immediately began to snort.

"What? Don't you think I would do that? Or do you know something I don't?"

Ron fought hard with himself and Harry grinned malevolently.

"Really Hermione, you don't know half of it."

Leaving her friend with that unsatisfying statement, they went into the Great Hall and sat down for dinner.

Hermione kept eying Lavender, Parvati, Ron and Harry during the meal, searching for any hint to solve what Harry had said when they had come into the castle, but eventually gave it up with a shrug. She'd get to know it sooner or later, she could wait.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The evening passed rather quickly and at half past seven Harry left the Common Room to meet with Filch in the entrance hall. The Hogwarts caretaker obviously had had one or his rare better days, and let Harry off after only four hours of cleaning up the Trophy Room. Back in his dormitory at quarter to eleven, Harry could finally give in to his desire for sleep and sank into his bed. His eyes were closed even before his head hit the pillow.

The last thing he thought before sleep claimed him was that maybe this night he'd be able to sleep as much as he needed.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Again, the moment he was sucked into a deep slumber, he found himself surrounded by a grey fog that wavered around him. Harry desperately tried to find something he could focus on, but as soon as his gaze centred on a certain shape, it seemed to vanish into thin air. But the more Harry tried to make his way through this fog, the lighter it seemed to become. He could now easily make out the path underneath his feet, even if he could not see anything to his right or left. 

Suddenly, sounds filled the air. Whispers, as if hundreds or even more people were trying to murmur at once. Harry could not understand a single word they said, but somehow it was clear to him that it were indeed voices that filled the air.

And abruptly, the grey fog turned a blinding shade of green and Harry woke with a start.

Panting, he sat up in his bed and tried desperately to make out the reason for his sudden awakening. He found it in the figure of Ron who stood beside his bed, and empty cauldron in his hand. Ron looked rather sheepishly. That was the moment when Harry realized that he was dripping wet.

"Sorry mate, but I've been trying to wake you up for nearly twenty minutes now. It was either the water or calling Madam Pomfrey, and I didn't think that you would want to have her fretting over you."

Harry shook his head and desperately tried to get his thoughts into a straight order.

"I didn't wake up? But, I've only gone to bed some minutes ago, haven't I?"

Ron now looked very concerned.

"Erm, no. Actually, you've slept for more than twelve hours, I guess. It's nearly eleven, and I thought that you might want some food before you go and see Sirius this afternoon."

"What time is it?"

"Nearly eleven, as I said."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. How could he have slept so long without even realizing? He had gone to bed, then he had had this weird dream with the fog and the voices, and then – then Ron had woken him up. It could not be, could it?

With one last desperate glance at his pillows, he slowly climbed out of bed and made his way towards the showers, Ron still at his heels.

"Don't you think you should go to the Hospital Wing anyway? That's not normal Harry, maybe it really has something to do with You-Know-Who!"

"Ron, once and for all: I'm just tired. My scar has not hurt ever since I've Avada-Kedavrad him. And for fuck's sake Ron, call him Voldemort. All this you-know-who whispering is really going on my nerves. He's got a name and it won't hurt anybody to say it!"

With this, Harry vanished in the showers and left a very dazzled looking Ron behind.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Twenty minutes later, Harry made his way downstairs towards the Great Hall. He still pondered over his strange insomnia. Every night he slept at least six hours straight, but in the morning he felt as if he had not slept at all. And if Ron hadn't used more and more desperate measures to get him to wake up, he'd have slept on and on. Maybe he really should go and see the nurse, Quidditch practice would resume in a week and he could not afford to be tired then. The Gryffindors still had matches to play against Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and Harry desperately needed to develop their strategies for those games. He had not played Quidditch during the first term, due to everything that had happened since summer, but when it had become clear that Remus was alive and Sirius didn't need his attention every free minute anymore, he had been more than willing to resume his duties as the team captain again.

Harry shook his head. He'd worry about Quidditch as soon as he had gotten over with Sirius, his godfather was his more immediate concern.

When Harry sat down at his place on the Gryffindor table he found Hedwig already sitting there, a letter bound to her leg. Already guessing what it was, he untied it, gave Hedwig some bacon and started to read.

_Harry, _

_Sirius will be here at two in the afternoon, please come to my office then. _

_Remus_

Harry sighed. Two hours left in which he could think of a way to get over with this talk.

He quickly ate his lunch and went back into the Common Room, where he was soon surrounded by his team mates. Harry had no chance but discuss the tactics against Hufflepuff with them, and soon he felt as if this was the right decision. Ginny and Terence had watched the Hufflepuff team practice this morning and they had some very useful information on their team for him. They could use some of the moves they had done against them last year, the team obviously hadn't changed his constellation too much.

Far too soon it was ten to two and Harry made himself onto his way to Remus' office. He knocked and was called in immediately.

Remus was sitting behind his desk, his head bent over a stack of parchments. Without looking up, he gestured Harry to take a seat.

"Hullo Harry. Sirius isn't here yet, it would be a miracle if he ever turned up in time. Just give me a minute, I want to finish reading this essay."

"Okay."  
Harry sat down on one of the chairs in front of Remus' desk and looked around the office. It looked a lot like it had in his third year when Remus had first taught DADA. There was a tank in the corner, covered with a piece of fabric. Obviously some creature for one of his lower classes. Furthermore, the shelf in the corner was stacked with a huge variety of books that made Harry immediately think about how delighted Hermione would be if she had a private library like this one. There were no pictures on the wall, only two framed photographs stood on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Harry didn't need to take a closer look to know what they were, he had seen them quite often during the holidays.

One was a picture from the day of Remus' and Sirius' graduation form Hogwarts. The four Marauders were standing in front of the castle and waved into the camera, Harry's father had his arm draped around his mother's waist and beamed. In the background, a younger version of Severus Snape was storming angrily towards them, his robes and hair turned into a bright shade of green, his face covered in purple dots.

The other picture had been taken at the beginning of the previous summer, it showed Remus and Sirius in the garden of Black Cottage. It had been the day of Harry's birthday, when they had had a barbeque in the evening. Sirius had been wearing an apron with 'Kiss the Cook' printed in large red letters which Remus had enchanted to read 'Kick the Cook' without Sirius realizing it. Ron had taken the picture the moment Sirius had realized why he had been kicked by everybody for nearly half an hour now, and it showed a very red-faced Sirius who threw the huge grilling fork after Remus. Harry was standing in the background and laughed his head off.

A smile crossed Harry's face when he thought back to that day. It had been long before the Death Eaters had started to attack again and their only concern this day had been that Sirius could possibly blow up the grill. Which he had.

"Merlin, Harry! What have you done, you look awful!"

Remus' exclamation pulled Harry back into Remus' office and he turned around. Remus was watching him with a very concerned expression.

"Haven't you slept last night? You look as if you'd fall asleep any minute now. What's wrong Harry?"

Harry shook his head. 'Great', he thought, 'now I'll have the same conversation I've had with Ron this morning.'

"It's really nothing Remus. I've not slept very well the last nights, but it's nothing serious, honestly. I'll go to bed early tonight and take it low tomorrow, and on Monday I'll be back to my old self. You'll see."

Remus didn't look as if he was convinced, but had no chance to contradict because at that moment the flames in the fireplace turned green and Sirius stepped out. He brushed the dust from his robes and muttered something under his breath that would have gotten him a month's worth of detention if Professor McGonagall had heard him. Graduated or not.

"Hello Sirius, it's good to see you, too."

Remus got up and gave his friend a mischievous grin before he gave him a short greeting hug. Sirius still looked as if he was ready to kill.

"You do this to annoy me, don't you? First you tell Molly about my crashes with the motorcycle, and now you use a French password for your fireplace, fully well knowing that I could not pronounce it properly if my life depended on it. Is it your life task to embarrass me as much as possible?"

Remus grinned widely.

"I guess that's why you are so late? What did you do, buy a French dictionary?"

Sirius shook his head.

"No, called your father through the fireplace and asked him how to pronounce that. I don't want to imagine where I would have landed if I had tried it without help. Ah, and by the way: while I was already talking to him, I promised that you would visit your aunt Estelle during the Easter holidays."

Remus' face fell immediately.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

Sirius leaned onto the desk with a smug grin on his face.

"Never mess with the master, Remus, you can only lose."

Harry had watched the banter between the two friends with a very amused expression, but now he found it time to interrupt.

"Hello Sirius."

Sirius immediately turned around and broke into a wide grin.

"Hello Harry."

Before Harry had the chance to do anything, he found himself in a bone crashing bear hug from his godfather.

"Well kiddo, how are you doing? Remus told me that you got into a little spot of trouble lately?"  
He ruffled Harry's hair and let go off him. Harry sat down and contemplated the meaning behind this. Sirius didn't seem to be angry at all. That could only mean that Remus hadn't told him everything so far. This was his chance to tell his godfather his version of the events. But he had to be careful.

"Well, what has Remus told you?"

Sirius now had sat down next to him and Remus had taken his seat on the other side of the desk. Sirius shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, he told me that you got yourself into trouble worth two weeks of detention. That's it. What have you done?"

"I brawled with Malfoy."

Relief spread across Sirius' face. Though that was unusual for Harry, it wasn't a tragedy. But Remus quickly interrupted.

"Broke his jaw would be the more appropriate expression."  
"What?"

Sirius spun around and gave Harry a very stern look.

"Is that true, Harry?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

"Well yes, but really, I didn't intend to do it. I just hit him, I didn't even realize how hard the blow really was."

"Harry, if you've broken his jaw you must have punched him like a heavyweight boxing champion. Why did you do that? Hitting somebody doesn't sound like you at all. What happened?"

Harry sighed.

"I really don't want to talk about it."  
But, just like Remus had predicted, Sirius didn't let him get away so easily. He turned around to Remus and raised his eyebrows. Remus merely shrugged.

"He didn't tell me why he did it either. Nor does Minerva know."

"Harry, I want you to tell me why you hit Draco Malfoy."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's really not that important."

"Harry James Potter, don't roll your eyes like that. And please let me decide what is important and what not. So?"

"If you really want to know it – Malfoy couldn't keep his big mouth shut. He said something he shouldn't have said and he got what he deserved. That's it."

"No Harry, that's not it. I had already guessed that you didn't ambush him and then knocked him out without a reason. So, what did he say?"

Harry furiously shook his head.

"Why do you want to know that? Really, if I say it's not important, then it is not important."

"If it wasn't important, you wouldn't have hit him!"

Sirius now evidently was angry, and Remus didn't make one move to help Harry. It was clear that he wouldn't get out of this office without telling them what had transpired.

"Fine, if you want to know it so bad, he called Remus a monster and you a half-blood, he made fun about Azkaban and said that you ought to get your soul sucked out. Remus, he said, didn't even have one anyway. And then, then he had the nerves to make fun of Mom and called her a mudblood, amongst other things. I got angry, lost control and hit him. That's what you wanted to hear?"

For a moment there was silence in Remus' office. Sirius was about to start speaking when Remus interrupted him.

"Harry, you know what Draco Malfoy is like. Whatever he says, you shouldn't even pay attention to it. Let alone give him the satisfaction to react to his taunts. That's exactly what he wants, and you stepped right into his trap."

Harry jumped out of his chair in his anger, the sudden movement making Remus and Sirius flinch in surprise.

"Great! Really great! Maybe you two think that he has a right to say such things, but I don't. He can make fun of me as much as he wants, but he has no right to say anything about my family. He of all people! He crossed the line, and somebody had to show him that this was too much!"

Sirius got up and stepped towards Harry. He tried to lay his hands on his godson's shoulders, but Harry pushed them away.

"Harry, whatever Malfoy has said, he only wanted you to react like this. You should have gone to a teacher, not take the matter into your own hands."

Harry let out a disgusted snort.

"Sirius, I can't let the teachers settle my fights. This had nothing to do with school or the teachers, this was a thing between Malfoy and me. And if that baby hadn't made such a fuss about it, then it would have stayed between him and me.

It's got nothing to do with you, so why don't you just leave me alone with it?"

"Because I'm responsible for you, that's why. Because I'm worried about you. If Malfoy had gone to Snape, he would not have hesitated to expel you, do you understand that?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"If Remus hadn't felt the urge to tell it to you, then it wouldn't have been such an affair at all. I'm nearly an adult now, so why don't you let me settle my fights alone? I don't need Remus spying on me, telling every little problem straight to you! Just leave me alone, alright?"  
With this, Harry turned around and stormed out of the office. Sirius stared at the door and Remus looked flabbergasted as well. This had been the most untypical reaction both had ever witnessed from Harry. Sirius slowly turned around and let himself fall into one of the chairs. Remus sat down as well.

"That did go quite well, don't you think Remus?"

Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Well? Sirius, I sometimes really doubt your sanity. You have seen it, haven't you? That boy was more angry than I've ever seen him, except maybe from the night when he wanted to kill you."

Sirius slowly nodded.

"I know Remus, I know. But what can we do about it? Maybe Harry was right, maybe we should allow him some space to settle his fights for himself."

"Sirius, he has broken the jaw of one of his classmates. That's not a typical student fight."

"Yes, but neither Draco Malfoy nor Harry Potter are typical students. I'm sure Harry will have a better self-restraint when it comes to another fight, I'll tell him that he needs to have. We both know how sensitive he is when it comes to his parents. I'll talk to him before I leave, okay? But maybe he is right and I don't need to know everything that goes on here. Let's pretend that he is a normal student, at least let's try it."

Remus nodded.

"I guess you're right. I'd have never thought that it was so difficult to treat him like any other student. It was easier as long as he didn't know who I was, but now I catch myself in watching him closely, whatever he does."

He laughed.

"I'm becoming a carbon copy of you, Sirius. Really, I'd be fretting over him twenty four hours a day if I didn't remember how embarrassing that can be."

He gave Sirius a warm smile while his friend watched him closely.

"It's difficult not to be concerned about Harry, after all he's been through. Even here, he's never been entirely safe and we all know it. 

But how about you? How are you doing? And don't lie to me, I can always tell when you try to. Are you still tiring easily?"

Remus suddenly remembered the way Harry had looked when he had come into his office. One of the reasons why he had not entirely believed Harry's story about the lack of sleep was that he had indeed been having a close eye on him during the last week. Harry had appeared to grow more tired the longer he had stayed at the castle.

"I'm fine Sirius. Really. The first days here have been quite taxing, but I think I know now what to expect. And most of the students have been quite happy to have me back here. Though some of them act weird."  
"Weird?"

"I don't know how to describe it. It's some of Harry's classmates. Ever since we've completed our lessons on werewolves and have started with first aid, they act not like themselves."  
He shrugged his shoulders. But Sirius hadn't even heard the last sentence. 

"You gave them lessons on werewolves?"

"Well, yes. They were on the curriculum and Arabella hadn't finished them yet."

"What did you teach them?"  
"How to recognize them, the distinction between wolves and werewolves, how to kill them."

"Remus?"  
Sirius' eyes had the size of dinner plates now. Remus sighed, he had a strong feeling of déjà vu. 

"Sirius, don't even start it, I've already had that discussion with Harry. They needed to be taught that, and it was my job to do it. Really, there's nothing about it. Let's stop talking about this, I'd rather hear what you'll be doing during the next couple of days."

Sirius merely shrugged his shoulders.

"If I only knew. The Ministry got hints that some of the remaining Death Eaters try to assemble again, and as you can imagine, all the alarm bells went off at that information. I don't know what to make of it.

Nobody knows where the information originally came from, that makes me suspicious. I talked to Arabella and Moody, and they feel the same about it."

"Do you think it's an ambush?"

"I don't know. Could be. But what strikes me most is that I can hardly imagine the Death Eaters to be able to do something right now. Malfoy has given so many of them away, from what we know most of the Inner Circle has been arrested so far and many of the not so important members as well. And I don't think that Voldemort would act without fully trusting the people around him. 

He just has too few people to plan something big."

He shrugged his shoulders and stared out of the window.

"I guess it will become a boring observation mission with no result at all. Most of the squads are already there, and so far they've had nothing to report at all."

"Be careful Sirius. If it is an ambush, I don't even want to think about it."  
Sirius nodded.

"I will. But I think it really is just a distraction. Whatever Voldemort is planning, he wants to direct our attention to something completely different. But there's nothing we can do about it at the moment."

He got up from his chair and ran a hand through his hair.

"I think I better look where Harry is and talk to him before I leave."

He turned towards the door but stopped once more when Remus called him.

"Sirius, wait. I know that we just agreed on treating Harry like any other student, but there is one more thing about which I am concerned."

"What? Is something wrong?"

Remus shook his head and searched for the right words.

"I don't really know. I think if it was something serious he would have mentioned it when I asked him, but still I'm quite uneasy about it.

I've had an eye on him during the last week, and he doesn't appear to be entirely himself. Aside from those pieces of violence, I mean.

It's just as if he didn't get enough sleep at all. I know this sounds over-zealous, but I got the feeling that it's getting worse. On Wednesday during the lesson he simply appeared to be tired, as if he had gone to bed too late, but on Friday it was worse. He nearly fell asleep a couple of times. And when he came to my office this afternoon, I took a closer look while he was distracted. He looked awful, as if he hadn't slept for days. I don't know what to make of it."

Sirius nodded.   
"I'll ask him about it. Remus, please still keep an eye on him. I don't need to know everything that happens here, but I'd be more at ease if I knew that somebody is there for him in case that he needs it."

Remus nodded.

"Sure. Take care Sirius. Good Bye."

Sirius smiled.  
"Take care yourself. Bye."

And he left Remus' office in search of his godson.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

He found Harry in the otherwise deserted Gryffindor Common Room where he was bent over a miniature model of a Quidditch Pitch. 

"I'd set one of the beaters higher. That way it's easier for them to get the chasers if the other team tries to vary the height they fly in."  
Harry spun around in shock and stared into the grinning face of his godfather.

"Sirius! How on earth did you get in here? Did Remus give you the password?"

"Never needed the password after my fifth year. The Fat Lady has been…a little taken by me, to say it cautiously."

"Didn't show it three years ago when she refused to let you in."  
"Well, she didn't know Padfoot. And if she ever knew that it was I who scratched her, she'd never forgive me. So – my luck with her is at your mercy."

Harry sat down on one of the couches in front of the fire.

"I guess that your strange love-life is not the reason why you came here."

Sirius laughed and sat down beside him.

"No, you're right, that's not the reason why I came here. I have to leave for Scotland tonight and I didn't want to leave like that.

Harry, Remus and I have talked about it, and maybe you're right. You've done something wrong, but you've received your punishment for it and there really is no reason to worry about it furthermore. As long as something like that doesn't happen again, no matter what Malfoy says. I know that your family is your sensitive spot Harry, but you have to learn to control your reaction onto such provocations. I want you to promise me that something like that won't happen again."

Harry sighed.

"Harry, please. This is really important."

"Okay, okay. I promise that it won't happen again."

"Fine. As a countermove, Remus and I promise that he'll try to treat you like any other student. Which means that he won't tell me what happens here until Dumbledore or McGonagall decide that I should know."

Harry nodded.

"Sounds like we got a deal."

Sirius smiled.

"Good, because there are some more things I wanted to talk to you about."  
Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"  
"Like the, and I quote Remus, 'weird behaviour' of some of your classmates."

Whatever Sirius had expected, it had not been seeing his godson double over with laughter. Sirius shook his head.

"Harry? This looks as if there was a good story to tell, so what do you know?"

It took some moments until Harry had himself under control again, then he gave his godfather a mischievous grin.

"You'll never let Remus live this down."  
"What? Harry, come on. Don't tease me!"

Harry quickly scanned the Common Room to make sure that they were alone, then he began to tell.

"Well, I guess that Remus was talking about Lavender and Parvati when he said 'weird behaviour'. You see, ever since Remus came back here to teach again, they – well, the did behave weird indeed. They stare open-mouthed at him, they blush when he calls on them in class, they battle to be his guinea-pig to demonstrate the healing charms on and – they giggle. And Hermione says that the two of them don't let her sleep because every night they talk about somebody who is so 'cute' and 'handsome'."

Sirius threw his head back and started to laugh loud and long. He laughed so hard that he had to hold his sides after some moments and there were tears streaming down his face. Finally, he was able to speak again.

"You…you don't want to tell me that…that good old Moony has two sixteen year old girls – fawning over him? And he doesn't realize what is going on?"

Harry grinned.

"Exactly!"

"That is simply great! Wait till I come back from Scotland. You're right, he'll never live it down."

The tension in the room was finally lifted and for the next twenty minutes, Harry presented impersonations of Parvati's and Lavender's behaviour to his godfather, much to Sirius' entertainment. 

"And Hermione really doesn't have a clue who that ominous object of their desire is?"

Harry shook his head and grinned.

"No, not at all. And neither Ron nor I intend to tell her, it's way to much fun to see her clueless. On the other hand however – she once said that if she knew who it was, she'd go to that person and tell him, just to get her sleep back."

Sirius once more broke into roaring laughter.

"I'd love to see that. Just imagine it. Erm, excuse me Professor Lupin, but there is something I need to tell you… Great, simply great."

Harry grinned, but the next moment he had to stifle a yawn. Though Sirius' visit had distracted him, now the tiredness came back with a vengeance. Sirius remembered what Remus had told him and watched his godson with increasing concern.

"Harry? Are you alright? You look as if you could do with some sleep."

Harry sighed.

"Let me guess, Remus has told you that I don't get enough sleep. Right?"

"Well, he told me that you looked like it, yes."  
Harry wanted to say something in return, but Sirius just raised his hand and gestured him to stop.

"You can't forbid him to worry about you, Harry. If you say that nothing's wrong, then I'll believe you. But if something is wrong, please tell me. You know that it could be important. Do you have those nightmares again?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, no nightmares. Actually no dreams at all. It's weird, I go to bed in the evening, and then I wake up and feel as if I had not slept at all. If Ron had not woken me up this morning, I'd still be asleep."

Sirius' forehead frowned.

"Since when do you have these problems?"

"Ever since I came back to the castle, I think. But it's been getting worse. During the first nights, I didn't go to bed that early and therefore wasn't as surprised that I was kind of tired in the morning. I only realized that it wasn't normal after it got really worse yesterday and this morning."

Sirius nodded.

"Your scar?"

"Doesn't do a thing. I haven't felt it for months. And nothing else is wrong, nothing hurts or else. I'm just tired but I don't know why."

Sirius leaned back into the couch and covered his face with his hands, thinking hard. Immediately, Harry felt that he should not have told his godfather about it. Sirius surely had enough to think about at the moment, he needn't worry about him as well.  
"Look Sirius, there might be nothing wrong. Maybe it will be better tomorrow. Don't worry about me, what could be wrong about being tired?"

Sirius sighed deeply.

"I don't know, but I don't feel too well about this. Harry, promise me that you'll go to Madam Pomfrey or at least to Remus if it doesn't get better until tomorrow. There could be nothing wrong at all, but it's better to be on the safe side, okay?"

"Okay, I promise."

"Good. I'll call Remus as soon as I'm back from Scotland. If it takes longer than a week, then I'll let you know."

"Take care."

Sirius laughed.

"Why does everybody makes me promise that? As if I'd ever been careless."

"Sirius, do you want me to give you some examples?"

"No, it's okay. I promise that I'll be careful."

Sirius slowly got up and made his way to the portrait hole, Harry at his heels. Quickly they hugged each other good bye and Sirius vanished into the corridor.

Harry watched him leave and sighed deeply. He only hoped that he'd come back alright.

He spent another hour bent over the model of the Quidditch pitch and tried to establish a good tactic for the Hufflepuff game. Sirius was right, the beaters had to diverge their height more in order to cover all the Hufflepuff chasers. Well, his godfather had been a beater himself, he ought to know.

He made good progress and started looking forward to their first training session. They should be able to stand a good chance in the upcoming match, they didn't even have to train many new moves for it.

Shortly past six, Ron and Hermione came back from the library and together the three friends made their way into the Great Hall to grab some dinner.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus meanwhile was standing in front of the window in his office and looked out into the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

He didn't really know what bothered him, but ever since he had come back to the castle, he had an uneasy feeling he could not quite put his finger on. First, he had blamed it on weariness, but at the end of the first week he had had to admit that it had nothing to do with that.

Something was definitely wrong, something was going on out there, but he didn't know what. This feeling slowly drove him insane.

Remus shook his head and turned away from the window. There was no use in pondering on these thoughts right now, it would not lead him anywhere. He only hoped that Sirius and the other Aurors would not be ambushed in Scotland.

Distracting himself by returning to his daily routine, he fed the Grindylow he wanted to show his third years next week. Then he straightened his robes, left his office and went downstairs to eat dinner. Just as he left the DADA corridor, he met Severus Snape who had obviously been heading towards his office. Curious to why the Potions master had left his dungeons and made his way all through the castle, something he did not do without a good reason, Remus stopped and waited to hear what Snape wanted.

"Severus, were you searching for me?"

Snape came to a halt in front of Remus. He had obviously hurried to get up here, because it took him a short moment to regain his breath.

"Lupin, I was sent for you. Albus wants to see all the staff in his office immediately."

Remus' forehead frowned and the uneasiness he had felt earlier quickly formed a lump of leaden panic in his stomach.

"Has something happened?" He asked while both of them quickly made their way towards the headmaster's office.

Snape merely nodded.

"It appears to be so, Lupin."

They walked in silence until they reached the gargoyle that marked the entry to Dumbledore's office. Snape quickly gave the password and the two climbed up the wooden staircase. The door to Dumbledore's office was slightly ajar and the two men could hear arguing voices from the inside. Obviously the majority of the staff had already assembled.

"Ah, Severus, Remus, please come in. We only have to wait for Sybil, but she should be here soon."

While Remus and Severus took their seats, Professor McGonagall addressed the headmaster.

"Albus, can't we start now? Who knows if Sybil's Inner Eye tells her to leave that blasted tower at all tonight."

Normally, such a statement would have made Dumbledore laugh or at least smile in his mirth, but with quite a shock Remus realized that the stern expression on the headmaster's face didn't vanish. There was no sparkle in his eyes and he only shook his head.

"No Minerva, this is something that concerns all the staff. And though you might have your doubts about the subject Sybil teaches, she still remains one of the few fully qualified witches and wizards we have within these walls. I sent the Grey Lady for her, she'll be along shortly."

Remus swallowed hard. If Dumbledore talked like this, something truly serious must have happened.

True to Dumbledore's words, that moment the door opened and Sybil Trelawney entered the office. She quickly took a seat next to the door and looked at the headmaster.

"Albus, my Inner Eye told me that my presence was required here in your office."

Dumbledore only nodded, but Snape could not stop muttering under his breath.

"That bat would not recognize the Inner Eye if it would kick her in the butt."

Remus had to stifle a laugh. One of the few things he really liked about Snape was his ability to be ironic in nearly any given situation. Not that he showed it very often, but every now and then Severus Snape had really managed it to rise laughter in the Staff Room because of something he had said. Remus was pulled out of his thoughts when Dumbledore finally spoke.

"It's good that you all managed to come here so quickly. Tonight at dinner I received a most disturbing owl from the Ministry of Magic."

He sighed. That moment, Dumbledore really looked his age.

"We all have been very concerned as to why Voldemort took such a long time to act again. The insecurity about his next move has made us all feel uncomfortable. But, I am afraid, this time is over now. Voldemort has taken his next step, and though we yet do not know what this means for us, we have to prepare for every possibility."

Long moments of silence followed in which it seemed that none of the teachers dared to ask what precisely had occurred. Snape finally was the one to break that silence.

"What has happened?"  
Again, Dumbledore sighed.

"The Dementors have left Azkaban."


	4. Threats and Dreams

_And here's chapter 4, just like I promised. You might ask yourself, why I don't post as often as I did with The Last Marauder, but have you ever taken a closer look at the chapter length? Chapter 3 was about 10.000 words long, the Complete Last Marauder with 24 chapters had only slightly less than 50.000 words. So – longer chapters, but also longer pauses between the posts. But I'll try not to get beyond a week, I promise._

_More A/N at the end of the chapter, because they are quite long this time.__ Keep it up, I LOVE long reviews! (Short ones aren't loved any less, though…)_

****

**Threats and Dreams**

Shocked silence filled Dumbledore's office after this. Remus inwardly cursed. Of all the things that could have happened, why did it have to be the Dementors?  
Professor McGonagall was the first to regain speech.

"When did it happen?"

"As far as I know, they left last night. And before you ask, yes, Hermes is sure that it has to do with Voldemort. The four human guards have been hit with the Killing Curse, but none of their wands has been used for this purpose. So somebody else must have come to the island, nobody except the guards carried wands. And somebody has conjured the Dark Mark afterwards."

"Do we know where the Dementors left to?"

"No Severus, they seemed to have vanished without a trace. And if it really has been Voldemort who planned this, then I'm sure we won't see them again until he wants us to."

Professor Sprout threw her hands in the air in desperation.

"If only those dreaded things had been removed from Azkaban!"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, it would have done no good. It was the first thing Hermes wanted to do, and everybody in the Ministry agreed with the thought, but the fact remained that first a place had to be found where they should be sent to. Otherwise they would have only wandered around without control, not to imagine what could have happened then. But obviously it took too long to find just such a place."

A sudden thought struck Remus.

"What about the prisoners?"

Again, Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"Most of the prisoners from Voldemort's first reign have remained in the Fortress. They were in no condition to leave it, let alone be of help for their lord. But all the prisoners that were brought there lately have escaped. Without a trace as well."

"So Voldemort has his Death Eaters back."

I was a statement, not a question. Slowly, Dumbledore nodded.

"Only Lucius Malfoy remained in captivity of the Ministry, but only because he was not in Azkaban last night. He had been questioned at the Ministry building till late in the night and they kept him there for the night. He's the only imprisoned Death Eater that could still be of help."

Snape laughed harshly.

"If he knows anything at all about the Dark Lords latest plans. And even if, I don't think he would tell us. But what are we supposed to do now? We still don't know what Voldemort wants to use the Dementors for."

Remus interrupted.

"Maybe we do."

All heads in the office turned towards Remus, and all except Dumbledore's gave him questioning looks. Remus merely shrugged.

"Well, if Voldemort hasn't completely changed his plans, he still wants the people who stand in his way dead. Which means that the Ministry should be one of his main aims, especially now after Fudge is no longer Minister of Magic. But other than that, he still has some scores to settle which should be more of our concern. We all stand in his way as well, especially Albus and Harry. And during the past years he has shown how badly he wants to kill Harry, so we should maybe get used to the idea that he might attack Hogwarts."

"My Inner Eye sees much trouble and suffering for our future. Only yesterday my crystal ball showed me hurt and death on the castle grounds." Sybil piped up.

"Oh really, my Inner Eye tells me that this fraud has no Inner Eye at all!"

Snape looked at McGonagall with newly gained respect after this remark, but Dumbledore quickly interrupted before they could involve themselves too far in such a discussion.

"Remus is right, we should admit the fact that Voldemort, the Death Eaters and the Dementors could attack Hogwarts. Which would leave us in a very defenceless situation. Over fifty prisoners have escaped, and the Ministry estimates the number of Dementors at about two hundred and fifty.

The first thing we have to do is to add security wards around the castle. All Hogsmeade weekends will be cancelled, as will be the Quidditch tournament. There's no need to attract the Dementors with so many concentrated emotions, we have seen what has happened three years ago.

But if the wards around the castle break down, there will be only us to defend the students. The Ministry doesn't have the capacity to station Auror units at Hogwarts, and if we really get under attack it might take some time before they send us reinforcements.

How many of you are able to produce a steady Patronus?"

Remus, McGonagall, Flitwick, Madam Hooch, Professor Vector, Professor Sprout and, much to Remus' surprise, Snape immediately raised their hands. Remus had always doubted that a man with Snape's past could have enough happy memories to feed a Patronus.

Dumbledore nodded.

"And how many of you have been able to produce a Patronus in the presence of a Dementor?"

Professors Flitwick, Vector and Sprout lowered their hands again, as well as Madam Hooch. The four of them never had had encounters with the Azkaban guards before.

"I see. This leaves Remus, Minerva, Severus and myself."

He nodded and thought hard for a minute. When he looked up again, his eyes showed some of his will and strength again, even if they didn't sparkle like they usually did.

"Remus, how many students do you think would be able to learn the Patronus charm?"

Remus thought for a moment, mentally going through all of his classes.

"Harry is the only one of whom I am sure that he can produce a Patronus already. A really strong Patronus. But even if he was able to learn it during his third year, I don't think that there are any students below or in fourth year who will be able to learn it yet. Some of the fifth years should be able to, mostly Gryffindors and Ravenclaw, some Slytherin amongst them. But a steady Patronus…nobody below sixth year, possibly half of sixth and seventh year. And I'm not talking about steady in front of a Dementor, I'm talking about the mere charm."

"Nevertheless, we'll have to try. Lessons will continue as usual, but we'll double the amount of Defence lessons. On Monday morning the Daily Prophet will report about the escape of the Dementors, so there's no use in hiding it from the students. Each class will have lessons on the Patronus Charm twice a week. Professors Flitwick, Vector and Sprout as well as Madam Hooch will teach the basics, Remus, Minerva, Severus and myself will then cover the difficulties of that charm when performed in the presence of a Dementor."

Remus shook his head.

"Albus, how do you want to do that? We can teach them the charm, that's true, but you as well as I know that this is not enough to perform it when you are confronted with a Dementor. I used a Boggart when I taught Harry that charm, but that only worked because they were his biggest fear. As soon as the Boggart would turn on another person, the Dementor would be gone."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I know. But at least we can try to describe what it feels like in such a situation. Maybe we can even find another Boggart and convince Harry to face it. Though the others in the room would not feel its full extend, they at least would get a slight inside into it. I'll ask Filch and the ghosts to look out for a Boggart."

Dumbledore checked his watch.

"It's late, maybe we should retire. I would ask you to come back tomorrow after breakfast, then we can talk about the additional wards around the castle."

He nodded at the teachers and one after another they rose and left the room. Remus was about to turn towards the door when Dumbledore called for him.

"Remus, would you please wait another moment? I want to have another word with you, Minerva and Severus."

Remus was slightly puzzled by this, but one look at Snape and McGonagall told him that they didn't know what Dumbledore wanted either. The four of them waited until the other teachers had left the office, then the headmaster gestured them to sit down again.

"There is another thing about which we need to talk. It won't be in the papers tomorrow and I wanted to have word with you before I inform the other teachers tomorrow.

Remus, when was the last time that you have been or have received news from Romania?"

Whatever Remus had expected, it had not been this. He drew in a sharp breath. His memories from Romania weren't ones about which he liked to think, in fact he had avoided doing so for many years. Summoning all his courage, he spoke.

"The only time I've been to Romania has been, what is it, seventeen years ago now, when you sent me there on Order business shortly after graduation. Since then, I've even avoided thinking about it, let alone gathered news from there. Why do you ask?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"The news about the Dementors have not been the only disturbances lately. Romania has always been an area with a very high number of werewolves, I guess all of you knew that already. Their wizarding community has never been able to develop a system to keep them under control."

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was true that in England such a system had been developed, but his own experiences with it had made him come to believe that is was far from being perfect. Dumbledore noticed Remus' uneasiness.

"I do not say that our system is without faults, on the contrary. To my mind we still have to learn a lot about the treatment of werewolves as well. But it cannot be denied that it has been managed to limit the amount of werewolf bites during the last three decades. That alone is an improvement.

However, as I said, Romania has reached a sad fame for its uncontrolled population of werewolves. Rarely a month passed in which no attacks were reported. But during the last three months, this has changed completely."

The leaden lump in Remus' stomach was back again.

"What do you mean?"

"During the last three months, not a single werewolf attack has been reported in Romania. Neither on human beings nor on animals. Not a single werewolf has even been sighted. The authorities have no explanation for this, and to be totally honest, neither have I."

He gave Remus a questioning look, but the other didn't even notice it. He was too lost in his own thoughts about the meaning behind those words.

"Remus?"

Remus sighed deeply.

"Albus, you know just as well as I do that there is nothing that could prevent a werewolf from changing and hunting during full moon nights. And estimated by the number of werewolves in Romania, which I guess has not diminished since I've been there, it is nearly impossible that not a single attack took place for three months. It would only be possible if somebody had either hunted down every single werewolf or if all of them had been given the Wolfsbane Potion. And the last option would rise the question why somebody would do that."

Professor McGonagall spoke up for the first time since the private meeting had started.

"Didn't the Dark Lord try to recruit the werewolves during his first reign? What if…he has done the same thing again?"

"It could be possible. To be honest, it's the same idea that I had, and it is supported by the fact that there have been Death Eater activities in Romania during the last two weeks. My only doubt about it is how Voldemort manages to keep them in check during full moon, wherever he brought them to. He would need Wolfsbane in large amounts, and his usual Potions master is not at his service anymore."

The three others turned their eyes on Snape with these words from Dumbledore. Snape nodded slowly, then he looked up.

"Albus, I don't think that this would be too much of an obstacle for him. One of Voldemort's doctrines is always to have a replacement at hand. Even while I was still at his service, as a double agent and before that, I was not the only Potions master whose skills he took advantage of. As soon as my cover blew up, he had a replacement for me, I'm sure about that. And the Dark Lord is known to chose his servants carefully, at least those who have to fulfil such delicate tasks. 

I don't think that producing enough Wolfsbane would be a problem for him."

Remus buried his head in his hands. Things had gotten from 'not so good' to 'bad', and during the last minutes they had quickly moved on to 'it can hardly get worse'. It was difficult enough to fight more than two hundred Dementors, but if they came along with the entire werewolf population of Romania, it was nearly impossible. There were only fourteen fully qualified wizards at the castle, maybe Hagrid could be of use if it really came to fighting the werewolves, but other than that there were only seven hundred under aged wizards, most of them merely children. They could not fight such a battle with children.

"Albus, surely the Ministry should be able to send help under those circumstances. Wielding knows as well as we do that Hogwarts could be one of Voldemort's first targets."

"Remus, as I said, they simply don't have the capacities. A third of their Aurors are on several missions right now, another huge party tries to clean up the mess in Azkaban, and in case the Ministry gets attacked they also need forces there. The amount of Aurors is very limited at the moment, the Ministry can't spare some of them merely on suspicions. No, we'll have to prepare ourselves as well as the students. We will give them the Patronus lessons just as it was planned and we'll also teach them how to fight werewolves."

Remus nodded.

"Fifth years and above should know it by now, third years and above have not been taught in fighting werewolves but at least have covered them in lessons already. I'll add it to the first and second year's curriculum from next week on."

He looked up and straight into Dumbledore's eyes.

"Albus, does Sirius know about this by now? Because if he gets to know it, there won't be anything that can keep him away from the castle anymore. You know how over-protective he is of Harry, and if he knew that Voldemort might strike here soon, he wouldn't want to leave again."

"I don't think that he already knows, but there is no way to hide it from him for long.  His group has only been sent to Scotland as reinforcements, and by now they surely realize that it's just been a distraction. And I guess that the squads in Scotland will receive the first owls tomorrow morning. Let's just hope that he doesn't act rashly."

Snape made a snorting sound and muttered something under his breath, but Remus wisely chose to ignore it. Dumbledore clapped his hands and got up from his chair.

"I know that this have been a lot of bad news, but that doesn't mean that the worst we fear must come true. Nevertheless, we need to be prepared. Tomorrow morning we will decide how to strengthen the wards.

Remus, please try to remember if there is any secret passage, no matter if within the castle or leading out, that we have not noticed yet.

Severus, you know the dungeons better than any other person in the castle. Please make sure once more that there is no way in or out of the castle that we don't know about.

Thank you. Now, maybe we should retire and try to get some sleep."

The three teachers nodded and rose from their chairs. They bid their good nights and left the headmaster's office, each lost in his own thoughts.

Remus arrived at his room without any memories of how he had gotten there. All the way he had been thinking about how very much their situation had changed during the last couple of hours.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry knew nothing of all this, of course. He, Ron and Hermione had eaten their dinner in the Great Hall and had not given very much thought to the fact that no teacher had been present at all. It was unusual, but none of them thought that it could mean bad news. After their dinner, Harry had spent two hours with cleaning up a boy's toilet in which some third years had let off a dung bomb, then he had gone straight back into their Common Room where Ron and Harry now sat over their Divination homework while Hermione was doing Arithmacy calculations together with Dean.

This term, Sybil Trelawney had decided to teach them about trance divination, and though neither Ron nor Harry claimed to have the Inner Eye, both of them easily predicted that this term would become even more boring than the previous.

It didn't take long until Harry finished reading on trances in their Divination book and threw it onto the table with a sigh.

"That's a load of rubbish. It has been easy to make up some predictions about my untimely death, but how on earth am I supposed to fall into a trance? I don't think I could fake one."

Ron laughed.

"Well, well. I get the feeling that somebody doesn't appreciate the finer branches of the art of Divination. Harry, where shall this lead to?"

"A term in which that old bat doesn't look at me with such a compassionate expression would be enough for me, thank you. It's hard to stand her if she's only waiting for my death to come."

From the other side of the table, Hermione gave them her famous 'didn't-I-tell-you' look and returned back to her conversation with Dean. Hermione had skipped Divination in their third year and ever since then had tried to convince the boys to do the same. Without any avail, of course.

Harry sighed and started collecting his things together and packed them in his bag.

"I think I'll go to bed now. Sirius made me promise to go and see Madam Pomfrey if I'm still tired tomorrow. And I'd do anything to prevent that, it would only result in Remus fretting over me. Good night Ron, good night Hermione."

"Good night Harry."

Upstairs in his dormitory, Harry quickly changed into his pyjamas and crawled under his blanket. If only he could sleep normally tonight. Shortly after he had lain down, his eyes were closed and he had fallen asleep.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Like in the nights before, Harry soon found himself surrounded by thick, grey fog that took away his ability to see farther than his outstretched hands.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron came into the dormitory about two hours later and without a further glance at his friend lay down to sleep himself.

The next morning, Ron woke up early and went into the showers. It was Sunday, and so he didn't expect any of his dorm mates to wake up within the next couple of hours. Especially not Harry.

So Ron went down into the Great Hall and sat down for some breakfast. Ginny and Hermione were already sitting on the otherwise empty Gryffindor table and gestured him to join them.

"Morning Ron, why are you up so early?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I just woke up and couldn't fall asleep again. The others are not awake yet, so I decided to come down here alone. And why are you two up so early?"

Hermione and Ginny grinned.

"Well, if Lavender is right, Draco Malfoy will make his first appearance after his encounter with Harry 'Hitman' Potter. We didn't want to miss the show."

Ron gave them merely another shrug with his shoulders.

"Don't know why that's such a big deal. I rather enjoyed not seeing him."

Again, the two girls grinned at him.

"Alright, that's enough. What do you know that I don't?"

Hermione laughed.

"Well, Lavender had to go to the infirmary yesterday because a charm she tried had gone wrong somehow. And there she saw Malfoy and heard a very interesting conversation between him and Madam Pomfrey. Obviously, Madam Pomfrey has mended his jaw, but she refused to remove the bruises. She said that if the students felt the urge to fight, then their bruises would have to heal the normal way. And from what Lavender told us, Draco has a rather large bruise on the left side of his face. She said that from the nose downwards, there was hardly any face to be seen anymore. That's why we didn't want to miss it."

Ron broke into a very wide, very sly grin.

"It seems my birthday has come early this year."

He quickly sat down on the other side of the table so that he had a clear view on the Slytherin table and waited for his arch nemesis to arrive. And truly, after only a few minutes, Crabbe and Goyle came into the Great Hall, followed closely by Malfoy. He had pulled up the collar of his shirt and robes as far as possible, but even despite this, the bruise on his face could clearly be seen.

Harry had done a remarkable job. Like Lavender had said, there was a huge bruise on the left side of Malfoy's face. It went up from the jaw line to the corner of his mouth and nearly reached the hairline next to his ear.

Ron realized with a grim satisfaction that Malfoy didn't seem to like the fact that Ron was present to see him in such a state. It was a feast to witness this for Ron. And just to imagine that this bruise would slowly become dark purple, then blue, then turn a yellowish green shade – Ron felt like he had died and gone to heaven.

"Ginny, do you thing that Colin would lend me his camera? Would be a shame if I had no pictures of this to show to my children."

Ginny giggled, but Ron also noticed the look Hermione gave him at this statement. Why did he always feel as if his legs were made of jelly and his stomach fell to his knees when she had that look on her face?

The three Gryffindors truly enjoyed the rest of their breakfast and not for a second they regretted having gotten up so early. Unfortunately Malfoy decided to leave again after only fifteen minutes, and after his retreat there was nothing that held Ron in the Great Hall anymore. He decided to get back into his dormitory, he simply had to tell Harry and his other dorm mates about this.

However, he met Seamus, Dean and Neville already in the Common Room where they were playing an early game of Exploding Snap. 

"Guys, you don't know what you missed at breakfast!"

Three heads turned towards Ron who grinned like a maniac.

"What, did you finally dare to kiss Hermione?"  
"What???"  
Ron's face quickly became redder than his hair and he glared daggers at Seamus, who raised his hands in a gesture of defeat.

"Okay, okay, calm down again. I was…merely joking. So, what did we miss?"

Ron quickly overcame his former confusion and the grin returned to his face.

"Well, it seems that Harry should have become a boxer instead of a Quidditch player. Malfoy showed up at breakfast and believe me, I have never seen such a large bruise in my entire life. And its deep purple contrasts wonderfully with his pale face. It's an image I will carry with me for the rest of my life."

"Not really!" Neville piped up. Ron only nodded feverishly. 

"Believe me. It's been the most enjoyable breakfast I can remember. I will have to thank Harry for this for the rest of my life."

Dean moved uncomfortably in his chair.

"Speaking of which, do you think Harry is okay? We tried to wake him up earlier on, but he didn't even react."

Ron shook his head.

"Well, that's how it's been for the last couple of days. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Let's get some water and wake him up, he wouldn't want to miss Malfoy in this state."

The four boys laughed and made their way back into the dorm, where Harry still slept soundly in his four-poster.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

As if his legs knew the way, Harry started walking straight ahead into the fog without hesitation. Soon, the fog became thinner again and the murmur of many voices filled the air. A shiver went down Harry's spine.

"Hello? Is anybody here?"

The voices kept on whispering without giving an answer to Harry. He tried to shut them out with his hands over his ears, but they also seemed to be inside his head. Then, suddenly he thought he heard somebody call his name, the sound was far away but clearly differed from the whispers around him.

"Hello?"

"Harry…"

Still far away, but clearly somebody called for him. Curious, Harry made his way towards the source of this voice.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Harry! Come on mate, wake up!"

"Ron, this has no use. Don't you think we tried that already?"

"Neville, hand me that cauldron with water, will you?"

Neville shook his head.

"Ron, I don't think we should do this…"

"It worked yesterday, so I don't see why it shouldn't work now."

"Do you really think he is okay? I think that's not normal."

Deans voice clearly showed his concern. Ron sighed.

"Well, he promised Sirius and Professor Lupin to go to the infirmary today. We only need to wake him up so that he can get there."

Ron took the cauldron full of water and quickly, before any of the other boys could hinder him, emptied it over Harry's head.

When Harry didn't even do as much as stir, Ron realized that something was terribly wrong.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Harry? Harry, where are you?"

The voice wasn't far away anymore and if the fog had not been so thick, Harry should have been able to see its owner by now. The voice was familiar, Harry had already figured out that much, but so far he could not put it in its proper place.

"Hello, I am here! Who are you?"  
"Harry, over here. Come closer, you are nearly there."

Harry made some more steps in the direction from which the voice came, and all of a sudden the layer of fog around him lifted. It was like stepping onto a clearing in a forest. And in the middle of that clearing stood a very familiar, red haired woman. Harry's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Mom?"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Dean, Seamus – go and get Madam Pomfrey or a teacher immediately."

The urgency in Ron's voice made the two boys practically storm out of the room. Neville looked as if he would collapse any moment.

"Ron, is he…I mean, does he still…?"  
"Neville, don't be daft, he's still breathing. It's just that he doesn't wake up.

Harry! Harry, come on, you must wake up! Open your eyes! Harry! HARRY!"

Frantically, Ron took his friend's shoulders and shook him nearly violently, but to no avail. There was no sign indicating that Harry even noticed their presence.

"Harry, please wake up! Come on, what's wrong with you?"

Ron continued his frantic attempts to shake Harry awake for the next couple of minutes, until a voice from the doorway interrupted him.

"Okay, what has happened here?"

Ron and Neville spun around and saw Remus Lupin hurry into the room, Dean and Seamus at his heels. Ron had never before been so glad to see his teacher.

"Professor Lupin, Harry doesn't wake up. We tried everything, he just doesn't react."

Remus gently pushed Ron out of the way and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed. With a frown he noticed the wet state of the sheets.

"I guess you already tried to pour cold water over him, didn't you?"

Ron stared at the floor and blushed.

"It worked yesterday."

Remus turned around and gave Ron a questioning look.

"Since when has this been going on? I realized that he looked tired, but I didn't know that there were sincere problems in waking him up."  
"Well, the day before yesterday I had to call him several times, and yesterday I had to pour water over him. I told him to go to the infirmary, but he said that he was only tired."

Lupin nodded and turned back towards Harry. He put his palm on Harry's forehead, then checked his pulse. Then he sighed.

"Okay Harry, I am sorry for this."

With these words, he slapped Harry in the face, gently, but still firm enough to wake somebody who was merely sleeping. Again, Harry didn't move.

"Ron, could you give me another pair of Harry's pyjamas? I need to get him out of these wet clothes."

Ron quickly searched Harry's trunk and pulled out a pair of blue cotton pyjamas which he handed to Remus. Carefully, Remus pulled Harry into a sitting position so that he rested on his side, then pulled off Harry's wet pyjama top and replaced it with the dry one he had received from Ron. He muttered a drying charm for Harry's wet hair then put his arms under Harry's shoulders and knees and carefully lifted him up. The other four boys had watched the entire procedure in silence.

"Will he be okay, Professor Lupin?"

"I'll bring him to the infirmary now, Ron. I don't know why he doesn't wake, but I am not a doctor. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will find out what is wrong."

With this, he stood up and left the room, Harry in his arms. 

Ron suddenly remembered the morning a couple of months ago, when he had woken up and found Harry on the floor in front of his bed, screaming in pain. He had hoped never to feel so helpless again, but that day, at least Dumbledore seemed to have known what had been ailing his friend. And there had been symptoms, Harry had at least moved and winced. As horrible as those memories were for him, it still had been better than seeing Harry like this, lying there, oblivious to the world around him. A knock on the door pulled him away from his thoughts. Hermione stood in the doorframe, confusion clearly showing on her face.

"Ron, what has happened? I nearly ran into Professor Lupin, and he was carrying Harry out of the Common Room. Is he sick?"

Ron sighed.

"Sit down, Hermione. It might be better to tell you while you're seated."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Meanwhile, Remus hurried down the corridors towards the Hospital Wing. Inwardly, he cursed himself that he had not been more persistent in finding out the reason for Harry's fatigue. If he had acted earlier, maybe this would not have happened.

He had not wanted to show it in front of Harry's friends, but he was deeply concerned about Harry's wellbeing. It was true, he was no doctor, but nevertheless he had gathered a certain medical knowledge over the years. And he could see no reason why the boy didn't wake up.

After what seemed like ages, he arrived at the infirmary. Quickly he pushed the doors open and stormed inside. He put Harry down onto the nearest bed and called out for Madam Pomfrey. It took only moments until the nurse stormed towards him, ready to scold Remus for making such a noise in the hospital, but nevertheless alarmed by the urgency in his voice.

"Remus, what in Merlin's name has happened that makes you shout around like that?"

"Madam Pomfrey, it's Harry. Some minutes ago, his dorm mates ran across me in the corridor and told me that they wouldn't wake up, not even when they poured cold water over him. I checked him as good as I could, he has no fever and his heartbeat is steady and regular. I don't see any reason why he doesn't wake."

The nurse raised an eyebrow.

"Has he had such problems before?"  
"According to Ron, he's had it for three days now, and it got worse."

Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Okay, I'll have a look at him. Maybe there's a simple explanation for it. Did he eat or drink something unusual that could have caused this?"  
"Not that I know, but I can ask his friends."

As if on cue, the doors to the infirmary opened again and Ron and Hermione entered the room. While Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains around Harry and her, Remus made his way towards his students.

"Professor, what's wrong with Harry?"  
"Ron, we don't know yet, I arrived just minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey has just started checking him, give her some time. Why don't we sit down and you tell me everything you know about this."

He directed the two distracted teenagers towards the group of chairs in the corner and they sat down.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Mom, is that really you?"

The red haired woman smiled warmly.

"Yes Harry, it's me. I'm glad that you came."

"But…what are you doing here? And where is 'here' anyway?"

"Oh Harry, that's not important now. Come here."

Harry cautiously made a step towards his mother while Lily opened her arms. And when he reached her, he realized that she was real, that he could touch her without grabbing nothing but thin air. With a deep sigh, he made another step forward and for the first time since fifteen years, Harry sank into his mother's embrace. For long moments they stood there, surrounded by fog, holding tightly onto each other, until Lily let go of her son and held him at arm's length.

"Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he is waiting for us at home. Shall we leave?"

"Home?"

Lily smiled.

"Yes, home. You didn't think that we were standing around in the fog all day, did you?"

Harry smiled. 

"Well, actually I had not thought about it at all."  
"Oh, it's alright dear, we'll have much time to talk about everything."

Lily pulled her son away into the fog and all the way he couldn't take his eyes off her. When she suddenly stopped in front of a house, he had no memory of how they had gotten here. Curiously, Harry stared at the house. It was rather large with a huge front garden, a swing silently dangling from a thick tree branch. The walls were white and the door and window frames had been painted in a dark blue colour. Upon the roof the smoking chimney showed that somebody inside of the house had lit a fire.

"This is it?" Harry asked with a smile on his face. Lily returned the smile.  
"Yes, this is home. Come on in Harry, there is somebody who wants to meet you."

She opened the door and led Harry into the hall and then into a large and warm living room. While Harry looked around in amazement, he nearly missed the tall figure that was standing in front of the fireplace and looked at him. When his eyes finally settled on the man, his jaw dropped. This time, however, he didn't need a request to run into the man's open arms.

"Dad!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus sighed deeply. The conversation with Ron and Hermione had brought no explanation for Harry's state, and neither could Madam Pomfrey find a reason for his strange coma. The latter really scared Remus, because Madam Pomfrey might not be able to cure everything, but Remus had never seen her that clueless about something.

It was now late in the afternoon and Harry had not stirred once since he had been brought here.

Professor Dumbledore had been informed as soon as Madam Pomfrey had admitted that she could find nothing wrong with him, and he had examined Harry himself very closely. Now at least they were sure that no Dark Magic had been used on Harry.

In the afternoon they had called Snape into the infirmary to check whether Harry had been poisoned. The Potions master had examined the boy's entire body for wounds through which poison could have come into Harry's blood system, then he had taken a blood sample to exclude the possibility of food poisoning. He had returned to the dungeons to carry out the necessary tests and so far, he had not returned.

An hour ago, Remus had started pacing the small single room of the infirmary into which Harry had been moved to save him from the curious glances of other students. He felt utterly helpless and this feeling slowly drove him mad. There had to be something he could do, there simply had to. If he thought hard enough, he would have an idea. 'Think Remus, for Merlin's sake, think!'

"If you don't stop pacing around here, I'll throw you out Remus. Though we don't know what is wrong with Harry, your nervous behaviour surely is no help for him."  
Madam Pomfrey had come into the room without Remus realizing it, and behind her came Dumbledore and Snape. Remus' eyes widened.

"And? Did you find something, Severus?"  
Snape shook his head.

"If Potter has been poisoned, then with something I neither know nor am able to find. I think we can rule out the possibility of poison then."

Remus' shoulders sank down and he buried his face in his hands.

"But what are we supposed to do?"  
Dumbledore made a step forward and put a hand on Remus' shoulder.

"I guess we only have to wait. It appears to be that Harry is really only sleeping, even though he doesn't react to any stimulus from us. Maybe he will wake up soon. But if his state does not change considerably during the next couple of days, we might have to move him to somewhere where he can receive a special kind of care."

Remus' eyes widened.  
"St. Mungo's?"

The headmaster only answered with a calming gesture of his hands.

"Let's see and wait whether he wakes up or not. I'm not talking about hours here, I was saying that we would move him if his state doesn't change within days, maybe a week or even more. Until then, he is in more than qualified hands."

Remus nodded.

"Sirius will want to know this."

"I already sent an owl to his squad leader. If they can do without him, I'm sure he'll be here by tomorrow afternoon. And after everything that has happened during the last couple of days, I am convinced that the Death Eater sightings in Scotland were merely a distraction for the Aurors. He should be here soon."

Dumbledore gave Remus a serious look.  
"Remus, I know that you care a lot about Harry, but after the conversation we had yesterday evening, I hope you know how important it is that the Defence lessons continue as scheduled."  
Remus nodded.

"Yes Albus, I know. I'll stay here tonight, though. I will get some sleep, I promise. But I don't want to leave Harry alone now."

"Good. If anything changes, please inform me straight away. The boy is strong, Remus. Whatever is keeping him asleep at the moment, it won't keep him forever."

"I hope so, Albus. I really do."

Dumbledore and Snape left the office and while Madam Pomfrey checked Harry once again, Remus transfigured one of the chairs into a camp bed with a cushion and a blanket. It would become a long night, and though he had given his word to Dumbledore, he was not entirely sure that he would get any sleep at all.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry held tightly onto his father's robes as if he would vanish as soon as he let go. Tears were streaming down his face, but at the moment he could not care less. James patted his back and muttered comforting words into his son's ear. After some long moments, Harry finally let go and made a step back to watch his father closely.

James didn't appear to be older than twenty-one, the age at which he had been killed. Of course Harry had seen pictures of James before, but only now he fully understood why everybody told him that he looked just like his father. Standing in front of him was like standing in front of a mirror that showed a slightly older version, and had it not been for James' brown eyes, both could have been mistaken for one and the same person.

Confusedly, Harry glanced from his father towards his mother and back again.

"Where are we? How come that I can see you, talk to you and even touch you?"

Lily smiled.

"We're in your dream Harry."

Harry's stomach clenched.

"Then you're…you're not real?"

"Harry, we are as real as you want us to be."

"But, I mean you are dead, and if this only is a dream, then Ron will surely wake me up soon."

James shook his head.

"No Harry, you won't. If you want it, this is real. We are not merely your imagination, if you want us to be real, then we will be. It all depends on you."

He gave his son a warm smile.

"Harry, I'm so glad to see you. It's fine to see that Sirius has obviously taken good care of you. I wouldn't have expected less."

Harry returned the smile, but somewhat awkwardly. James' forehead frowned as he pushed his son down onto the sofa.

"What is it, Harry? Hasn't Sirius been a good guardian?"

Harry quickly shook his head.

"No, no that's not it. Sirius is simply great, and ever since I live with him he has done everything for me. He's the best person you could have chosen as my godfather."

James smiled a relieved smile, but Lily sat down next to them with a questioning look.

"What do you mean 'ever since you live with him'? Hasn't he taken you in right after we died?"

Harry sighed.

"He could not."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not easy to explain. You know why Voldemort could find you, don't you? That Wormtail betrayed you?"

His parents nodded.

"Well, when Sirius got to know this, he went after Wormtail. He cornered him in a street, but then Wormtail started shouting around that Sirius had been the one who had given you away, cut off his finger and blew up the street before he escaped as a rat. Sirius was blamed for your murder and for the twelve dead muggles in the street. He was sent to Azkaban without a trial and it took twelve years before he managed to escape. He has been freed barely a year ago, and ever since then I've been living with him."

Harry had often imagined how his father would have reacted if he had known what had been done to Sirius. He had imagined him to become angry at Wormtail, to feel sorry for Sirius or even to make a remark about the fact that Sirius had been the first wizard ever to escape from Azkaban. Never had he imagined him to react like this. James' lips moved into a thin, angry line and his eyes sparkled furiously.

"That idiot did what? Hunt down the traitor on his own? I swear, if I were still alive, I'd beat some sense into him. It was his task to take care of you if ever anything happened to us, the only thing I ever asked of him, and he threw that responsibility away for his personal revenge? How stupid is that? And where did you live instead? I doubt that the Ministry allowed Remus to take you in."  
Harry shook his head.

"No, they didn't. In fact, I didn't get to know Remus until my third year at Hogwarts, when he came to teach DADA."  
James merely raised an eyebrow, but without further comments about his friend being a teacher, he repeated the question.

"But where did you live?"

Harry sighed.

"With mom's sister and her husband."

"Petunia?" Lily shrieked. "You lived with Petunia and Vernon? Who came up with that idiotic idea?"  
"Dumbledore."

"What?"  
"He said that I would be safest with my blood relatives. Voldemort still wanted me dead."

Lily sighed deeply.

"Well, from what I know about my sister and Vernon, I guess you didn't have a fantastic childhood, did you?"

"It was okay."  
Harry decided to keep the harsh treatment he had often received secret from his parents, especially after he had seen his father's earlier reaction.

"And all this is Sirius' fault. If that stupid idiot for once in his life had used his head before he acted, none of this would have happened to you. You would have gone and lived with him, just as he said it would be in case we died. But no, Mr. Black once more had to abuse my faith in him and do things his way – the way that never works out."

"Dad, please don't talk like that. Sirius is really sorry for what happened and I don't bear a grudge on him for what he did. And while he was still a fugitive, he more than once put himself into danger to be there for me. He's done more than anybody else for me, he was the first adult who really cared for me, the closest thing to a parent that I've ever had."  
"Which would not have been the case if you had had a proper home and a proper guardian. Then you'd have received the treatment you deserved right from the start. If that poor excuse of a godfather had done what he was supposed to do for once in his life!"

"James, leave it. Harry surely doesn't want us to fight about this."  
With a smile Lily turned towards her son.  
"Tell me, I want to know everything that has happened to you Harry. Everything. We've got all the time in the world. So, who is this Ron you've been talking about?"

And with a content smile on his face, Harry began to tell.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus woke with a start when he heard the sound of a closing door. At first, he didn't really know where he was, but as soon as his eyes fell onto the still unmoving figure of Harry next to him, his memory returned. He couldn't remember that he had lain down to sleep, he must have drifted off during his vigil at Harry's bed.

The sound that had woken him had been caused by Madam Pomfrey, who had entered Harry's small room with a tray of potions in her hand.

"Oh, sorry Remus. I didn't mean to wake you up."  
"Nothing to be sorry about, I didn't mean to fall asleep in the first place."

Madam Pomfrey only shook her head at that statement.

"Well, don't let Albus hear that. But if you're already awake, you might help me with this."  
She pointed at the potions she had positioned on the bedside table. Remus raised his eyebrows.

"What are these?"  
"Some nutrition potions, vitamins and water. In his current state, Harry won't be able to eat on his own, so we'll have to give his body some support. He also needs liquid so that he doesn't dehydrate."

Remus nodded. Of course, he should have known that. He quickly got up from his bed and moved to Harry's side.

"Could you lift him up into a sitting position, Remus? That would be very helpful, thank you."  
Carefully, Remus lifted Harry by the shoulders and brought him into a sitting position, supporting him with the side of his own body. Harry's head immediately dropped to the side, so Remus used his free hand to keep it steady.

"Let's just hope that he swallows on his own, otherwise we have a problem."  
The nurse only shook her head.

"I don't think that this will be very much of a problem. He has not shown any signs that would indicate such complications, if he really is fast asleep, his reflexes ought to be normal."

Madam Pomfrey took the first goblet from the tray and raised it to Harry's lips. True to her words, Harry started swallowing as soon as she started pouring the liquid into his mouth. Remus let out a sigh of relief. Two goblets of potion and another one with water were given to the oblivious boy before the nurse gestured Remus to put him down onto the pillow again.

"I will repeat this procedure every morning and evening, and he should be given a glass of water every six hours at least. I'm afraid that's all I can do for him at the moment. When do you have your first class, Remus?"  
"At half past ten. What time is it?"  
"Some minutes past six, it's still quite early. I wanted to come here before the first students come running into the infirmary with made up excuses to get some free time."

Remus smiled. He knew very well what a hard time the nurse could give to those who only pretended to be ill, mostly this included a variety of very foul tasting potions that had no effect at all, except maybe from curing the students from their urge to miss classes.

"I think I'll stay here until ten, that should give me enough time for a quick shower before classes."

"Good. If something changes, call me immediately."  
"Of course."

Madam Pomfrey left the room and Remus pulled a chair next to Harry's bed. He took one of the boy's hands into his own and searched frantically for any change in Harry's state.

"Oh Harry, I am so sorry that it always has to be you. If there was anything I could do to change this, believe me, I would not hesitate to do it. But we'll find a way, just don't give up. Do you hear me? Don't give up, Harry."

Remus didn't know why, but while he was sitting there and talked to the unresponsive form of Harry, he remembered their mocking conversation on the train ride to Hogwarts a week ago, when they had contemplated what kind of relationship they were actually having.

'Friends' was the term they had agreed on, but Remus knew that this word could never fully describe what he felt for Harry. Truly, he had never wanted to be 'uncle Remus', a nickname with which Sirius had teased him mercilessly. But he had held Harry as a baby, only minutes after he had been born, he had babysitted him on various occasions, he had been there when Sirius had taken him flying for the first time (and had afterward prevented Lily from murdering the child's godfather in cold blood), he had seen him starting to walk and talk. Remus could clearly remember the day when Harry had first said 'Moo'y' when seeing him, his arms outstretched to be lifted up.

And even though he had had no contact with Harry for twelve years, he had thought about him very often, wishing that he could have taken him in. But Dumbledore had decided that he should be raised far from the wizarding world, and that included no contact between him and the child. It had hurt, but Remus had trusted the old headmaster.

But as soon as Harry had finally found the world into which he truly belonged, his past had caught up with him with a vengeance. Ever since he had been eleven, Harry had been forced to face things nobody should ever witness. 

Remus sighed. 

Harry had never done something wrong, so why did he have to go through this, again and again? It was unfair!

Remus knew that he was being childish, but he couldn't help it.

Loud voices from the infirmary pulled him out of his thoughts. Madam Pomfrey was arguing with somebody, and that somebody sounded astonishingly like Sirius. How on earth could the owl have reached him so fast?

Only moments later, the door to the small backroom was pulled open and Sirius literally stormed into the room. Without even noticing Remus' presence, he ran to Harry's side and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Harry! Harry! Come on kiddo, what's wrong? Wake up Harry, please. It's me, Sirius!"

Madam Pomfrey came in shortly afterwards, a very stern expression on her face.

"Sirius, don't you think we tried that already? If you run and shout around in the infirmary, it will help nobody. Remain calm or I'll have to throw you out."

Sirius didn't even seem to notice her, his eyes were fixed on Harry as he tried everything he could think of to raise his godson from his sleep. Remus quietly told the nurse that he would take care of the disturbed man, and putting all her faith into Remus' reason, she left Harry's room, though somewhat reluctantly.

"Harry, please wake up!"

Remus got up, walked to the other side of the bed and forced Sirius to look into his eyes.

"Sirius, calm down please. It's no good if you start panicking now, okay?"  
Sirius sighed.

"I know that you already tried everything, it's just…I thought that maybe if it was I who tried it, he'd wake up, you know? Stupid, isn't it?"

Remus smiled.

"No, no it's not. We need to try everything we can think of to wake him, but I'm afraid that we've ruled out every possible cause and we tried everything we could think of."

"You checked him on poisons?"  
"Snape himself did it. If he can't find anything, then nothing's there."

"Dark Magic?"  
"Neither Dumbledore nor I could find any indication for that."

"Any physical reasons?"  
"Madam Pomfrey says no."

"Obviously, you also tried to rise him."

Remus nodded.

"Talked to him?"  
"Yes."  
"Shook him?"

"I think Ron did that, yes."

"Enervate?"

"I tried it myself."

"Cold water?"  
"Definitely. He was dripping wet when I was called to him."

"Slapped him."  
"Erm…yes."

Sirius' eyes grew wide.

"Who slapped my godson?"  
"I did it. I didn't like it, but I thought maybe it might work. And I apologized."

Sirius buried his face in his hands.

"And what are we supposed to do now?"

"I know you don't like it, and neither do I, but we can only wait. It appears that he is really 'only' asleep, somehow caught wherever he is. We have to wait until he frees himself or decides to wake up again."

"That can't be all, Remus."

Startled, Remus realized that Sirius had started crying. He couldn't remember when he had last seen his friend crying apart from the night when Remus had woken up in the hospital a couple of months ago. Sirius had always been the strong one.

Tear filled eyes focussed on Remus, searching for anything that could give him hope.

"It can't be all we can do. We're supposed to help him…"

Remus didn't answer but pulled Sirius into his arms and let him cry on his shoulder. Sirius grabbed Remus' robes tightly, so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"I feel so helpless. Remus, I can't just sit by and watch this, hoping that he will wake up again."

"I know Sirius, I know. Don't think that I like the idea, but I'm afraid that we'll have to accept it. It's up to Harry to wake up again, and all we can do is being strong for him now. Don't give up Sirius, he needs you now. You more than anybody else."

_Lady of Arundel__: Good to have you back and thanks so much for the review! Glad you like the interaction between the characters, I've taken much time to develop them. As far as the insomnia is concerned: you'll see this chapter. Though I don't even know if 'insomnia' is the right word, because it means that somebody can't go to sleep, and Harry's problem is that he sleeps far too much without realizing. But I liked the word, so I didn't care that much about this detail ;-)_

_Leonie__: Ja, die Träume haben eine Bedeutung, und welche wirst Du in diesem Kapitel sehen. Allerdings – nicht alles ist so, wie es scheint…*g* Ich mag es, Leute mit Andeutungen in der Luft hängen zu lassen…_

_Storyspindler__: Glad you liked it. Here you go with the next chapter, but I'm afraid the next one is still a week away. And the other one another week…and so on, and on, and on. And I don't know yet how many chapters there will be…_

_Maryanne__: Well, you'll see why Harry is so tired in this chapter. At least parts of it. And as far as the Dementors are concerned – well, they never mean good news. BTW, Sirius was cleared at the beginning of TLM. But now that the Dementors don't follow Ministry orders anymore…who knows what happens?_

_A.Reader__: Good assumption. Right. Ten points for Gryffindor. And no, I won't just repeat my other story with Sirius or Harry instead, that much I can promise. Nobody will be thought dead though he's alive. But there'll be a lot of angst and suffering ahead. You remember the thing about Cruciatus when it's intended to kill? Better do, but I won't tell more right now…_

_Narcoleptic__: I intend to update once a week, but it can be more frequent if I feel bored…so check every now and then. And I absolutely love this Lavender/Parvati crush thing as well!_

_Mrs. Moony__: I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer until Remus gets to know it. And for your hopes concerning me not to kill Sirius…I'll try. But, you see, I don't have that much influence on it, this story somehow has its own will. And Professor Trelawney just told me that there will be a lot of danger ahead for our favourite ex-convict._

_evil__ spapple pie__: Well, I've written a lot more already. It's just that I don't give it to my readers all at once *evil grin*. And if you think that Harry's behaving strange now, just wait till two or three chapters ahead…And let's talk about Remus for a minute, shall we? I can tell Lavender and Parvati to leave him alone, of course. But, to make this one clear, he's not yours. No, no, no. HE'S MINE!!!_

_Sarahpeach__: Ozzy Osbourne? Well, I love his show as well, but he honestly wasn't on my mind when I wrote it. Not that I mind that comparison, not at all. It's cool. Actually, I tried to take a leaf out of A.A.Yarrum's (I think that's the name) book, his/her story "The Staff Room" at FictionAlley is just great. It's Prisoner of Azkaban told from the perspective of the teachers, and there's a lot of scenes in the staff room, where it shows that Snape is not the cold, unapproachable bastard (sorry) that he appears to be, but rather a very ironic guy who's liked a lot by the other teachers, especially McGonagall. **And he really manages to entertain the other teachers from time to time. If you don't know that story, go ahead and read it, it's really great. A lot of fun to read! I highly recommend it!**_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Where does that name come from, b.t.w.? Yepp, Dementors on the loose. And yepp, rocks at Draco. More rocks! Can anybody hand me the __Rocky Mountains__, please?_

_Schwester Aurelia__: Das habe ich lieber per mail erledigt, ware sonst länger geworden als das gesamte chapter!!!_

_Avidia__: You're back! Yeah! And – well, I'd advice you to have some tissues handy, just in case. Though there won't be a situation like in TLM, where Sirius grieves for Remus. But there'll be – well, an unexpected reunion, a great deal of fighting, the final battle and its aftermath (tissues here very highly advised)  and a Character Death. This time for real, I'm afraid. But that won't be until one of the last chapters, I don't know when this will come out. I guess the story will have something around 10 to 14 chapters, depends if I can keep up the chapter length towards the end, or if I'd rather have some cliffhangers. Yeah – cliffies!!! And no, Harry never gets a break. But neither do Sirius or Remus, I'm afraid. _


	5. Caught

_Guys, if I could I'd come to each and every one of you to deliver a huge Thank-You-Hug! You're awesome. And yes, I know that I've said that before, but who cares? So, here's chapter 5, and slowly things start getting rather nasty. Slowly. _

_You're all really great in guessing what might happen next. I know it's unfair (because I know what's going to come), but I really enjoy reading your ideas. And some of you are really clever…_

_Anyway, on with the A/N, shall we?_

_Unfortunately, **evil spapple pie has taken Remus and Sirius away from my story. If you have any hint as to where they could be held prisoner, please contact me straight away. Without them, the story cannot continue. I beg the kidnapper to return them soon and unharmed, otherwise you'll be in serious trouble, believe me!!! *g***_

_Zenya__: Yeah, you're back! Was already starting to miss you! Unfortunately, I can't answer why Harry won't wake up, and neither how he got into this state. Spoilers, you understand? But you won't be able to take Remus, Sirius and Harry to hide them, I'll find them and bring them back! Mwhaaa!_

_Avidia__: Yes, 10-14 chapters, but that's only an estimation, cause it's not finished yet. Well, it's finished inside my head, but I still need to write a thing or another… And yes: Character Death. And no 'not really deadisms' this time, I'm afraid. It's necessary for the story, you'll see. But it won't be until the end, so you still have some time to figure out who it might be… Harry…Sirius…Remus…Ron…Snape…somebody completely else…I won't say anything *grins maniacally*_

_A.Dee__: No, calm down. You were wrong. Nobody goes mad in this story, at least it isn't planned yet. Think again, think back to The Last Marauder (you've read it, haven't you?). What happened every time that the Cruciatus Curse was used with the intention to kill? Hmm? Another hint: think about Harry and Voldie…got it? That was where I was hinting at. But I won't say more, no! *shuts mouth firmly and turns head away*_

_kateydidn't__: Great name! Favourite's list? Wow, I'm flattered! Thank You!_

_sara__ ane__: The entire fic and the prequel all at once? Respect! Glad you liked it! Fav authors list? Wow, this day gets better and better and better…interesting theory you got there. Very interesting. Hmmm *raises an eyebrow* Batman, he?_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: I can't tell you that now, can I?_

_Heather__: Interesting theory, but you will understand that I can neither confirm nor deny suspicions here. I mean, I still want some suspense left for the rest of the story…_

_And I'm afraid that there won't be any romance in this. Not that I think Harry doesn't earn a break and maybe finally a girl at his side, I really do, but I can't write romance. Not if my life depends on it. I'm just too cynical to write something as happy as that!_

_Well, Lily and James are definitely in Harry's mind, but whether they are only his subconscious speaking to him or whether they are real in another way will come out later in the story. Patience, my dear, is a virtue. Unfortunately._

_Mrs. Moony__: Well, but you have to admit that thinking about consequences doesn't seem to be one of Padfoot's strongest traits. I've always wondered why he (though he knew that Harry was alive) went and hunted Peter down on his own. He could have convinced Dumbledore that he had not been the secret keeper, a dose of Veritaserum would have done. Then Harry could have lived with him, not the Dursleys.  But no, he just goes off and gets into big trouble because he didn't take the time to think. (sounds strangely as if I blamed him. Hmmm.) But somehow it is his fault, isn't it?_

_evil__ spapple pie__: RETURN THEM NOW AND I MIGHT FORGET ABOUT THIS LITTLE INCIDENT!!! *please bring them back, I miss them* And no matter what you try, Remus isn't yours. And neither is Sirius. You can have…Lucius? _

_I absolutely love the image of Draco Malfoy with a bruise the size of a hand on his face! Do you think it glows in the dark? Mwhaaa!_

_The Dementors wouldn't have kissed Sirius were they still on Ministry business, but now they're with Voldemort and I don't think that they'd pass the chance to suck anybody's soul out. I mean, they feed from it, don't they? So you want Sirius to be breathing at the end of the chapters? I mean, those who were kissed do breathe as well, don't they? Hey, don't flame me, I'm just joking now!_

_No, the werewolves work for Voldemort because they chose to. I think it was even in the books that he tried to recruit them, promising a cure. That's what he did to get them. What happened after that, I can't tell just yet. You'll have to wait for the next full moon night…_

_You kinda misunderstood what James and Lily were saying. Harry was afraid that he was only dreaming, that his parents were not really there but that he just imagined them to be. Then James and Lily told him that they were really real if he wanted. Which means that he could finally live with them, all he needed to do was stay where he was. Which is what he did. It didn't mean that he can resurrect them somehow, not at all. But for a full explanation of it, you'll have to wait a little longer. I promise, there will be more James and Lily as the story goes on…_

_A DEATH THREAT???__ Yeah, I got my first Death Threat! I already expected them for 'killing Remus' in TLM! Well, there will be a Character Death in my story, but I won't tell you who! I just tell you that it won't be like in book 4 'Cedric, well he wasn't really important anyway Diggory', it's going to be somebody who appeared more often. A lot more often, actually. HeHeHe! *g*_

_I plan to update only once a week, but as you've seen, when I'm bored I'll update more often._

_Leonie__: Yepp, Antworten geben und dabei noch mehr Fragen aufzuwerfen macht unheimlichen Spaß! Solltest Du dringend auch mal probieren, kann ich nur empfehlen! Naja, und ich kann mir vorstellen, dass Lily und James schon gerne ein bisschen Zeit mit ihrem Sohn verbringen wollen, was sie nicht könnten wenn er aufwacht. Aber wie das weitergeht, wirst Du schon noch sehen. Zu James Reaktion, naja, sieh Dir den Review für evil spapple pie an. Ich habe mich bei all den fics die ich gelesen habe, immer gefragt, warum James, wenn er Sirius mal 'erschienen' ist, gleich so vergebend war. Ich an seiner Stelle wäre ziemlich wütend, kann ich Dir sagen. Erzählen wird Harry Sirius erstmal nix, aber er wird es seinen godfather schon merken lassen, lies einfach weiter. Antworten wirst Du schon bekommen, wenn Du immer schön fleißig weiter reviewst, geht das mit dem updaten vielleicht auch schneller. Aber nicht in nächster Zeit, nach chapter 6 habe ich da eine etwas größere Lücke, die muss erst nochmal gefüllt werden…hmmm…_

_FirePixie28__: Well, Harry's parents told them that he didn't only imagine them to be there, but that they were real. Which means that he's not merely dreaming about them, but actually meeting them. At least that's what they say…As far as the waking up is concerned…read and find out!_

_So, that's enough for today, isn't it? Here __you go._

_Enjoy!_

**Caught**

With a happy smile, Harry relaxed into the sofa. His head rested against his father's shoulder while James' hand lay on top of his head and combed through his unruly hair. His mother sat on his other side and listened to her son's tales with a warm smile on her face. 

At first, Harry had only wanted to tell his parents stories from Hogwarts and nothing about the Dursleys at all, but once he had started, it had all flooded out of him. 

He had told them about the first eleven years of his life, about the day when Hagrid told him that he actually was a wizard, about his adventures at Hogwarts and his encounters with Voldemort, and also about his holidays with the Dursleys. He even had told them what had happened the day when Sirius had rescued him from them, how Vernon had beaten him into oblivion.

Though he could only see his mother's face while he told them about his life, the movements of his father's hand in his hair showed him how he reacted to it. He had stopped combing through his hair whenever something had upset him, and he had stopped quite often. Mostly when the names of Voldemort, the Dursleys or, much to Harry's surprise, Sirius were mentioned.

Now that he couldn't think of anything more to tell them, he just relaxed and bathed in the feeling of comfort and love that their presence gave him.

His mother broke the silence.

"Well Harry, I'm glad that you're finally safe from my sister's husband. I knew that he wasn't a kind man, but what he's done to you has gone way too far. I'm so sorry that you had to go through this."  
Before Harry could answer, he was interrupted by a snorting sound from his father.

"If I had been there, Vernon would have paid bitterly. Nobody does something like that to my son without getting something worse in return."

"Dad, there was no time for revenge, and for my part, I am glad that Sirius has had some self-restraint. Cursing them or beating them up would not have helped me either."

James obviously wanted to say something in return, but a stern look from Lily shut him up immediately. She got up.

"I think I'll go to the kitchen and make us some dinner. How about pasta?"

Harry smiled.

"That would be great."

Lily left for the kitchen and Harry relaxed even further into his father's arms. He closed his eyes with a content sigh and only felt. James draped his arms around his son's body and pulled him close. Harry smiled as he snuggled himself as close to his father as possible.

"You know, when I still lived with the Dursleys, I often imagined how my life would be if you and mom were still alive. I even hoped that you were still alive and would take me home one day, but as soon as Petunia got to know that, she did everything she could to destroy that hope.

And so I started dreaming that one day somebody else would come and get me, an uncle, a distant relative, maybe a friend of yours, but nobody ever came.

Then I went to Hogwarts and didn't need to dream about something like that anymore because now I had friends and people who cared. I didn't even realize that still there was something lacking. 

And then Sirius and Remus came into my life and suddenly I knew that the people I dreamed about were really out there and simply couldn't help me because of the circumstances. But the knowledge that they wanted to be there for me and did everything they could gave me the strength to cope with the Dursleys, and I was hoping that one day I'd be able to leave.

And just when I was about to give up, just when Vernon crossed the last line, my dream came true and I could live with somebody who really cared for me. Somebody who was like a parent to me, who said he loved me. And that was so new and it felt so good, so I didn't realize that still something was amiss.

And only now I understand what this was. There is no substitute for you, no matter who tries and how hard they do, nobody can ever take your place. Only now I know what it means to have parents, to be a child who is really loved. I belong here, and everything else will only be a poor substitute for this."  
He turned around and looked into his father's eyes.

"I don't want to lose this again. For the first time I feel completely safe, I feel at home."

James smiled and planted a kiss on Harry's forehead.

"This is how it should have been all the time. This is what you would have earned to have all your life. But unfortunately, people got in the way. Some of them tried to harm you willingly, and some of them did what they thought was the best for you, but what in the end cost you this, the life you should have led. Harm doesn't need to be willingly done, it also hurts if it is caused by a well-meant, but ill choice.

But what is important now is that you finally have your life. As I said, this is as real as you want it to be. If you want to take what is your own, you simply have to take it. We're together again and that's all that matters now.

There's nothing here that threatens you, nothing can tear us apart anymore. Voldemort doesn't exist here, Harry. It's you and us, the Potter family like it should have been all the time."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"…but unfortunately, he didn't know the counter curse – and neither did any of us – so your father had to stay like that for the rest of the day, three feet tall. Believe me, I've never seen James so angry before, and Snape and McNair paid bitterly for it."

Sirius sighed. Now it was already late afternoon and nothing he had tried so far had been successful in raising Harry.

He had spent the morning sitting beside his godson's bed together with Remus, silently waiting for any change in Harry's state.

At noon, after Remus had reluctantly left for classes, Ron and Hermione had visited their friend. But not even their presence had had any effect on the sleeping boy.

So after they had left, Sirius had sat down on the bed, his back against the headboard and Harry cradled in his arms, and had started telling him stories. Somehow he felt a little stupid about it, Harry already knew most of the stories, but in some way it was even more for Sirius' peace of mind than for Harry.

Madam Pomfrey had thrown a fit when she had found Sirius sitting on the bed with Harry, but she had given up the idea to tell him otherwise very quickly. Sirius could be as stubborn as a mule and he had simply pretended not to see and hear the nurse at all when she had scolded him. Deciding that the physical contact posed no threat at all and might even be more of a cure for Harry, Madam Pomfrey had chosen to let the man have his will in that matter. And so Sirius had sat like this for more than four hours now, telling his godson stories and hoping that the sound of his voice might wake him up.

With a click, the door to Harry's small room opened and revealed Remus Lupin, who carried a tray with various goblets and two plates into the room. When he saw the two figures on the bed, he smiled.

"Hello Sirius. Any changes?"

Sirius shook his head.

"No, he didn't even move once. What are those?"

He gestured towards the tray that Remus had put on the beside table.

"Potions for Harry and some food for you."

Remus sat down on the other side of the bed and began giving the potions to Harry while Sirius held the boy's head steady.

"I'm not hungry." Sirius replied, just as Remus had predicted he would. He sighed.

"You're right Sirius, how useful you would be for Harry if you only starved yourself eventually."

Remus shook his head and gave the second goblet full of potion to Harry, then another one full with water. Afterwards, he handed one of the plates with food to Sirius, took the other plate and sat down next to his friend.

Sirius put the plate on the bedside table which earned him another stern look from Remus.

"Sirius, look. When Harry wakes up, he'll need you to be there for him. To be strong for him. But if you seize eating and sleeping, you'll eventually break down yourself. In which case you won't be able to help Harry at all. So take that plate now and eat, before I have to force the food into you. It wouldn't be a pretty sight, believe me."

Sirius contemplated his choices for a moment, then took up the plate again and started to pick listlessly through his food. Remus shook his head. If Sirius had been in a similar mood last summer, he could understand why Harry had wanted to keep an eye on him all the time.

"I guess you'll spend the night here?"

Sirius nodded.

"Good. But promise me that you'll at least try to get some sleep."

Sirius, who had already put his plate aside again and now was totally focussed on stroking Harry's hair, nodded again.

Remus sighed. This was even more difficult than he had thought it would be. Sirius didn't seem to notice anything but his beloved godson.

"I already wanted to ask you this morning, how did you manage to get here so quickly? Even if you had apparated immediately, Dumbledore's owl could have never managed to get to Scotland before early afternoon.

Sirius sighed and his gaze remained unfocussed while his hand remained in Harry's hair.

"Well, like we had guessed, the Death Eater sightings in Scotland were merely a distraction, and after we received the news from the Ministry, we broke our camps there and left only a small unit for further investigation. I was already halfway back when the owl reached me, and then apparated to Hogsmeade immediately."

"So you know about the Dementors."

It was a statement rather than a question, but Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, Arabella told me. Even if nothing had been wrong with Harry, I'd have come here after those news. Wielding really doesn't want to station Aurors here? He should know that Hogwarts is one of Voldemort's main targets, where else should he strike first?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"He said that they don't have the capacities and somehow I understand. It's not only the Dementors, the Ministry also has to worry about the Death Eaters. And they have shown quite clearly what they are able to do last summer."  
Sirius slowly nodded.

"They can worry about whatever they want, I'll stay here. Not even Albus can talk me out of that. If Voldemort strikes here, he'll have to kill me before he ever lays his hands on Harry again."

Remus thought for a moment.

"Sirius, how strong is your Patronus?"

Another shrug with his shoulders.

"Haven't tried it in ages. But you know that I never had problems with it, do you think I can't do it anymore?"

Remus quickly raised his hands.

"Relax Sirius, of course I don't doubt your abilities. I know that you've always been able to do a Patronus. What I meant is the following: in case that the castle really gets attacked by Dementors, we'll have fourteen, fifteen including you, wizards to defend it. Eight are able to produce a stable Patronus, but only four of us have ever been in the situation to try and produce one in the presence of a Dementor. Now, in case that we'll really be attacked, I need to know into which category you fall, that's it. 

And twelve years in Azkaban plus two more as a fugitive without a wand certainly have had an effect on you, that would have damaged even the strongest wizard's magic."

Sirius re-adjusted his arms around Harry's still unmoving form and thought for a moment. Eventually, he spoke.

"I think whatever damage Azkaban has done to my magic has healed when I got away from the Dementors. Ever since I have my wand back, there has been no spell or charm that was a problem for me. And Moody tried some hard ones when I joined the Ministry again. I'm convinced that the Patronus charm is no problem for me."  
Remus interrupted.

"Even in front of a Dementor?"

His voice barely more than a whisper, Sirius answered.

"I don't know Remus, I don't know. I can't tell you how I would react if I came face to face with one of those things again. But we could try it, if…if you found me a Boggart."

He didn't look into Remus' eyes, as if admitting that his former jailors had become his biggest fear was something to be ashamed of. Remus only nodded.

"Filch and the ghosts already look for one. We…we wanted to ask Harry to face it, so that the other students could get a feeling what fighting a Dementor really means."

Tightening his hold on Harry even more, Sirius nodded.

"Well, if you find one, I'll try it. If it works, I can show the students."

Remus smiled at him.

"I'd love to see that comet fly again. Though if the Boggart would turn into a Dementor, it would mean that I won't see another bald version of yourself."

He laughed and even Sirius managed a weak smile while he absent-mindedly ran a hand through his shoulder long, black hair.

"Times have changed Remus. If becoming bald would still be my biggest fear in times like these, I could volunteer to get my soul sucked out."

Those words were followed by a long silence in which both men got lost in their own thoughts about times when their lives had been easier and their fears more insignificant. Finally, Remus got up.

"I think I'll retire now. Oh, and Madam Pomfrey said that she'd come over for a last check at around nine and that she would hex you into next month if she still found you in Harry's bed by then."

Sirius snorted.

"I'd like to see her try."

"Well, I wouldn't risk her wrath if I were you. But seriously, please try to get some sleep. It's no use if you can't keep your eyes open tomorrow. Good night Sirius."

"Good night Remus."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Even after two days it was still a strange feeling for Harry to wake up on his own. Truly, he had only suffered from that strange insomnia for only a week, but during that time the question if he would wake up on his own had become a constant thought in the back of his head.

The first morning waking up had been extremely strange, because in addition to the unknown feeling of waking up on his own, he had also woken up in unfamiliar surroundings. It had taken him some moments to realize where he was.

This was his room, his room in his parents' house. It was furnished with a large four poster bed, a desk near the window, two large shelves with books and, as if his parents had known it, a variety of Quidditch posters on the wall. It looked as if it had only waited for him to move in, waited for all those years.

With a happy smile on his face, Harry jumped out of his bed, took a shower and dressed himself, before he went down to his parents to grab some breakfast.

It was only the morning of his third day with his parents, three nights after he had arrived with his mother, but he already felt as if he had spent his entire life with them. There was no feeling of unfamiliarity between them, it felt as if he had known them for all his life.

After breakfast, he spent his mornings in the kitchen with his mother, talking about this and that, but nothing in particular, both were simply enjoying the other's presence. After lunch, he mostly went outside with his father and either they explored the area around the house, or they played Quidditch. In the evenings, the Potter family sat in front of the fireplace and Harry listened with wide eyes to his parent's stories.

Last summer, Remus and Sirius had given him his father's journal, and he had read it more than once from cover to cover, but it was something completely different to hear his father tell the stories. 

James had also promised to teach him how to become an animagus, a promise Sirius had given him as well, but so far had not held.

Yesterday afternoon, some of their neighbours had paid them a visit and from what his parents had told him, a couple of their friends would come over the next weekend. 

It truly felt like home after only such a short time.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius closed his eyes and let his head roll around in order to ease his troubled muscles. Harry was in this strange coma now for more than four days and nothing had changed.

His life had fallen into a routine which only circled around his godson. Early in the morning he would rise, if he had slept at all, then take a quick shower and upon Madam Pomfrey's insistence he'd eat something. Afterwards he assisted the nurse in cleaning Harry up, gave him his potions and then he settled onto the bed with Harry in his arms, stroke his hair and told him stories. Day after day.

Remus would drop by before and after his classes, and Ron and Hermione would pay their friend a visit after lunch. Dumbledore would come every evening after dinner.

Though Sirius was lost in his own sorrow about Harry's state, he realized that this situation had its affects on the others as well. Remus looked as if he didn't sleep very much as well, Hermione's eyes were reddened from crying, Ron appeared to be angry at nobody in particular but at the world as a whole, and Dumbledore seemed to search for the right words in a very helpless way. It could not go on like this, they needed to rise Harry and they needed to do so soon. Even if Sirius didn't like admitting it, his godson was far more than any ordinary boy, and if Voldemort would start acting again, Harry simply had to be conscious. If there was any wizard besides Dumbledore who might be able to fight and kill the Dark Lord, it was Harry. 

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

It was the afternoon of Harry's seventh day with his parents and he couldn't imagine that once he had led another life any more. This was his life, he had his parents around him, he could see them, listen to their stories or cradle himself in their arms, he could bathe in the feeling of unconditional love that surrounded him with those two people. Here, he truly had everything he ever needed. 

He had nearly forgotten about the Dursleys and the first eleven years of his life. His parents gave him their undivided attention whenever he needed it and with every hour that he spent in their presence, he felt more at home.

However, during the last couple of days, two strong and contradicting feelings had started developing inside of him, far beyond his ability to control them. And ever since Harry had acknowledged their presence, he could no longer ignore them.

One was the feeling that despite he was living his dream, something was still amiss. Something that even his parents and his home could not replace – his friends. He missed Ron and Hermione dearly, from time to time he could even imagine Ron pouting because he had left him alone at Hogwarts and Hermione scolding him for missing classes. Harry missed the evenings in the Common Room together with Ron and Hermione in front of the fireplace, he missed Exploding Snap with Dean and Seamus and he missed playing Quidditch with his Gryffindor team mates.

The other, even stronger emotion was the feeling of constantly rising anger. The more time Harry spent with his parents, the more time he spent at home, the bigger his anger towards those people who were responsible that he had not had this before, grew. The people who had taken his life away from him.

He grew more and more angry at Voldemort, he hated him with a passion because he had killed his mother and father before he had had a chance to know them. The hatred he had felt against the Dark Lord even before now multiplied a thousand fold. 

The same happened with his hatred for Wormtail. Just because he had betrayed his parents to Voldemort, they could have been killed in the first place. 

And – something he had never thought possible – his anger focussed more and more on one other person. Whether it was his father's influence or not, Harry could not tell, but ever since he had arrived here a thought had woken in the back of his head and ever since then had been nagging at his thoughts. There was one person who had enabled all this to happen, one person whose well-meant, but ill and in the end cowardly choice had cost him his happiness. And the longer he stayed with his parents, the longer he got to know what he had never had, the more his anger towards this one person increased. The person who carried far more guilt than Wormtail and even Voldemort himself, because other than them he still pretended to be interested in Harry's wellbeing. 

But now Harry understood whose fault all of this was. Now he fully knew whom to blame for his life. The man who had the nerves to call himself his godfather, the man who, after all the pain he had caused Harry, still claimed to love him. Sirius. It was all Sirius' fault.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"No, Albus you can't do that! I won't let you! There has to be another way!"

Dumbledore sighed and for a moment allowed his façade of calmness to drop. They had been over this before, but still Sirius refused to see the obvious. He threw a quick look at Remus who sat on the other chair in front of his desk and who had the same desperate look in his eyes that he himself had. It had already been a huge task to convince Sirius to come into his office in the first place, but Dumbledore had not wanted to have this discussion in Harry's presence. In the infirmary, they would have had no chance to convince Sirius at all. 

As if understanding the headmaster's silently pleading gaze, Remus spoke up.

"Sirius, I don't like the idea as well, but you have to see that it's reasonable. In St. Mungo's, Harry can receive the care he needs. Maybe they can even find a way to rise him. It's been over a week now and there has been no change at all, we have to look for other possibilities."  
"Harry is doing fine here and I won't allow you to give him into the hands of strangers. Here he's got everything he needs and he has his friends around. There's no better place for him than Hogwarts."

Remus sighed.

"Sirius, if he's doing so fine here, then tell me why he still doesn't wake up?"

Sirius hit Dumbledore's desk hard with the palm of his head, the sound made even the headmaster flinch. Remus knew that his friend was angry, but if Sirius' wrath had to be raised in order to make him see reason, then so be it.

"Do you say it is my fault that he doesn't wake up?"  
"No Sirius, I don't want to say anything like this. But you have to finally understand that the infirmary here is not cut out to care for cases like Harry's. Harry needs special care all day long, and this is not Madam Pomfrey's field of expertise. She's here to deal with Quidditch accidents, Potions mishaps and curses that went wrong, she has seven hundred other children to take care of, she can't be there for Harry as much as he needs it."

Sirius stubbornly chewed on his lower lip.

"I'm here. I'll take care of Harry."

"Sirius, you're no medi-wizard. I know that you love Harry more than anything else, but in this case this is not enough. If you really love him as much as I think you do, then you'll agree that he needs the best treatment that can be given to him."  
Sirius nodded, but looked away.

"Fine. And if this best treatment can't be given him here, then you surely agree that he has to be moved to a place where it can be given to him."

Sirius looked out of the window and thought for a moment. Then, barely recognizable, he nodded again.

Remus sighed and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Sirius, I know that it's hard, but it's for Harry's best."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"Remus is right, Sirius. And even in St. Mungo's you will be able to be at his side, just like you are here. I've talked to one of the medi-wizards at the hospital, we'll be able to move Harry on Wednesday morning if nothing has changed till then. They put up special security wards, he'll be as safe as he's here in the castle."

The old headmaster looked up and caught Sirius' eyes.

"It's hard for all of us Sirius, don't think that we want to get rid of Harry. But there is nothing Poppy can do for him. Thank you Sirius."

Sirius nodded gravely, then got up and left the room without another word. Neither Dumbledore nor Remus had any doubts where he was hurrying to. Remus sighed heavily and put his face into his hands.

"Albus, if Harry doesn't wake up soon, I'm afraid that Sirius won't get through this."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I know. But it's not only Harry and Sirius I'm worried about. It's been over a week since the raid in Azkaban and I fear we're running out of time. Whatever Voldemort will do next, he won't wait much longer.

How are the Defence lessons going?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"I think all the students know how to fight a werewolf by now. But I'm concerned how they would cope if they really encountered one, especially the lower classes. Albus, we're talking about children here. I've seen grown men running away when facing something even less threatening than a werewolf.

As far as the Patronus lessons are concerned, it is as I said. No student below fifth year is able to produce one, only some fourth years have managed to conjure silvery mist out of their wands. Some fifth years and most of sixth and seventh years were more successful, though I doubt that many of them would be able to repeat this in the presence of a Dementor. They don't know how intimidating it is to stand in front of them and face their worst memories. They totally underestimate the impact of it, I don't think they can imagine that all of them have dreadful things in their past."

Dumbledore looked at his former student for long moments before he answered.

"All we can do is take care that none of the students is facing alone whatever might attack us. Especially none of the younger students. And we still have the wards around the castle, though we should not rely on them, maybe they can win us some time. In case they fall down we'll try to apparate the younger students out first."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Group apparition?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"I know that there are risks, but none that I won't take in such a situation. Better have the students spread around the country in such a case than in the middle of Dementors, werewolves and Death Eaters. The teachers who don't trust their own Patronus will do that, they're working on it now."

"Albus, there is another problem. If Voldemort really sends werewolves against Hogwarts, then he'll have to do it in a full moon night. The next is in ten days."

Again, Dumbledore nodded.

"I know Remus, I know. And, as I said, I don't think that he'll wait any longer. That would give us only time to prepare and he knows that. He'll either try it this full moon or next month latest. But I fear we won't even have another month."

"Have you thought about evacuating the castle?"

"Yes Remus, I have. I just don't know if it would help. The entire country is preparing for the next war, and most of the parents think that their children are safer here. I've had Minerva send out word this morning to the parents, however. I explained why we think that the castle might be a target for the Dark Lord and those parents who decide to take their children home will be given the possibility to do so. 

But in case that, despite everything we fear, the castle will not be attacked within the next months, school has to continue as normal and the danger remains the same. We don't have many choices Remus."

Remus nodded thoughtful.

"Of course you are aware that I won't be of very much help if Voldemort really attacks in a full moon night?"

"Yes Remus, I am. But especially now it is important that you stay in the Shrieking Shack during full moon, otherwise you could too easily get in the line of fire, Wolfsbane or not. You're far too important to lose you just because of your lycanthropy."

Remus knew only too well, especially that he'd be just the same threat to his friends than any of the other werewolves might be.

"I know Albus, don't worry about this. I'll make sure that I'm safe, it's just that I wished there was a way for me to help if it comes to battle. 

But there is another thing which worries me, in fact more than anything else."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, but Remus could not seize to wonder whether the old headmaster already knew what was bothering him.

"Albus, I know that there are many things to be thought of in case that we get attacked, and even if we could defend ourselves against Dementors, or werewolves, or Death Eaters, or in the worst case all three of them together, the question remains how to deal with Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded gravely and got up from his chair. He stepped towards the window and gazed outside, looking at the quiet lake and the forest beyond. Remus knew better than to interrupt the old wizard and quietly waited for him to speak again. When Dumbledore turned around again, his face seemed to have grown older and the ever-present sparkle had left his eyes. In a very serious and low voice, he began to speak.

"Yes Remus, this problem remains and I fear that I have no answer to the question of how to solve it. But I'm afraid that Harry is far more involved in it than any of us would like."

The headmaster stepped across the room towards Fawkes' perch and gently stroke the phoenix's feathers. 

"To be of any help, Harry has to be awake, and the longer he remains withdrawn in himself, the more I fear that his state shall prevent exactly this."

Remus shook his head.

"You don't want to say that Voldemort somehow has caused all this? How could he have done that?"

"I don't know if the Dark Lord caused this Remus, but you have to admit that it is a huge coincident that Harry doesn't wake right now, exactly when Voldemort has the capacities to strike again."

Remus nodded while he contemplated that thought. It sounded reasonable, but still he could not explain how Voldemort could be able to control Harry's physical condition.

"So what are we supposed to? How can we do something against Voldemort?"

Dumbledore sat down in one of the vacant chairs next to Remus and looked at his former pupil. Before he could prevent it, the memory of the day long ago when Remus had first sat in precisely this office came to his mind. It was so many years back now, when Voldemort had been barely more than a rumour about which people in the pubs talked after they had had too many drinks. 

He could clearly remember the frightened little boy that had sat in a far too huge chair in front of his desk, at the verge of tears, his amber eyes full of fear. Remus had been only eleven then, but rejection and isolation had already become well known feelings for him.

Inwardly, Dumbledore smiled.

He had never regretted that he had allowed the young werewolf into Hogwarts, not even after the incident with Snape and the Willow.

Here, Remus for the first time had been like all the other children of his age and, even more important, here he had found friends for the first time in his life. And not even when they had found out his secret they had pushed him away, on the contrary they had tried everything they could to make his life easier for Remus.

Sirius, James and Peter, yes even the traitor, had shown the boy that his human side was so much stronger and far more important than the wolf that surfaced once a month, and Dumbledore was sure that a huge amount of the dignity with which Remus carried his burden today was thanks to them. 

The Remus that sat in front of his desk right now was so unlike the little and scared boy that he had once been. He was a powerful wizard, far more powerful than he gave himself credit for. And he had become a strong man, one of the very few of which Dumbledore was convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that he would rather die than turn towards the Dark Side. Especially Remus knew its power, he felt it every month, and he'd never let it turn against someone else willingly.

"Albus?"

Remus cautious question rose Dumbledore from his thoughts. He smiled.

"Oh, I am sorry Remus. I'm afraid that I got lost in my memories for a moment."

Remus' raised eyebrow indicated that he wondered in which memories one could get lost when talking about Voldemort, but knowing the quirks of Dumbledore's mind, he decided not to pursue this question any further.

"Albus, I want you to be honest with me. Is there any way that Voldemort can be killed? For good this time?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"Yes Remus, I think there is a way, though I don't know how to make it work. Ever since Harry faced Voldemort last autumn I've been thinking about it.

Voldemort has become very powerful by now, and Avada Kedavra is not enough to kill him. There's too much darkness in him, too much that is not human or living at all to make that work. 

But I think that he has made one big mistake in the past, one mistake that we might use for our advantage.

Sirius has surely told you what happened at the Triwizard Tournament, in the night of the Third Task?"

Remus nodded and a shadow fell over his face. Sirius indeed had told him about that night, and the anger that had risen in him had only been matched by Sirius' own. If he'd ever meet Wormtail again, he would not restrain himself just because they had once been friends.

"Voldemort resurrected himself with the use of Harry's blood. He gained his body back, is that what you mean?"

"Yes Remus, it is. And I still don't understand why he did this. Truly, the protection that Lily left in Harry through her sacrifice is very strong and ancient magic, but he also created a connection between himself and Harry, a connection that can work against him as well, as we have seen. I guess that he had planned to kill Harry after the rite had been carried out, then all this would not have been important. But fortunately, Harry has survived and I think that this leaves a possibility for us to act against him."

"Albus, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"You see Remus, though Voldemort is no human being and therefore cannot be killed like one, he has a human body. You might say that he's divided in two, a dark spirit that is hosted by a human body. And only if those two parts are combined, it is that he is close to being invincible.

He had his reasons to hide in Albania after he had been reduced to a barely living spirit, without a body he is a lot weaker and there is an ancient spell that can kill spirits like this. Not many wizards remember it, but he knows about it and fears that I do as well. With which he is right."

Remus nodded.

"Then the only thing that prevents us from killing him is that he has a human body again?"

"Something like it, yes. But now we come to the point why I'm not so sure whether we will be able to make this work for us. To make the spell work, it would be necessary to separate the spirit from the body. The body that is connected to Harry."

Remus frowned his forehead.

"But their connection cannot be so strong that killing one of them would mean the death of the other. Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn't try to kill Harry."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Remus, I don't pretend that I understand everything about the bond between Harry and Voldemort, because I don't. There has never been a case like this which we could compare to it. 

But if Voldemort wants to kill Harry, then he is sure that he won't kill himself with it as well. Which means that Harry should be able to do just the same: Destroy Voldemort's human shell and set the spirit free so that we can wipe it out. 

What I am not so sure about is what the consequences for Harry would be if any other person would try to break their connection by killing Voldemort."

Realization dawned in Remus and his eyes widened.

"So you want to say that is has to be Harry? Harry has to be the one to kill Voldemort?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"I'm afraid he is, at least if we don't want to risk Harry's life. And this is a step which I would only take if we had no other possibility. But it means that if Harry doesn't wake up soon, we might miss the only chance that we'll probably get. As long as there is still a large number of wizards who fight Voldemort, it is more likely that he shows himself during the battle, which makes it easier to get to himself. And the fact that he desperately tries to get hold of Harry could work for our advantage as well. And it makes me even more certain that Harry holds the key to Voldemort's destruction. But if we are sure that Harry won't be able to confront him in the near future, we will have to do this on our own."

"Sirius won't allow this."

Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed, tiredness showing clearly on his face.

"I know Remus, that's why I haven't told him about it so far. By now there is still a chance that Harry will wake on his own and all we can do is pray that he will. 

I don't want to sacrifice Harry, I don't want to see him die. But on the other hand I think I can't let the chance to kill Voldemort pass by only for the sake of one, especially since we don't know exactly whether it would really kill Harry as well or not. Who knows if we get another chance?"

"There's one thing I still don't understand."

Dumbledore mockingly raised an eyebrow.

"Just one? Then maybe you might explain one thing or another to me. But go ahead."

"How is Harry supposed to separate Voldemort from his body? I mean, if he tried Avada Kedavra and failed, there's nothing more I can think of."

"There's a spell, just as ancient as the one who can destroy the spirit. They have been passed on for many centuries, but slowly got forgotten. Today there are only few wizards who still remember them.

The only problem with that spell could be that Voldemort is far too strong for it to work. We need to weaken him, but as for the how, I still don't have an idea. But we'll find a way, I hope that we still have enough time for it."

Remus nodded slowly, trying to digest everything that he had just heard. All of a sudden, Remus felt more tired and worn out than he had in a long time. All he wanted to do was get into his room, lay down, sleep and not wake up until everything was over. He knew that of course this was no possibility, but a man was allowed to have his dreams, wasn't he?

"That has been pretty much to take in for just one afternoon, but I want to thank you that you've been so honest with me. If there's anything that I can do, just let me know. 

But I think I'll return to my office now, there are still some papers I have to grade. The Slytherin sixth years are always good for a distraction, mind you."

For the first time this afternoon, Dumbledore smiled.

"I'd bet they are. Thank you for your help with Sirius. Take care that he doesn't blame himself too hard, please."  
"I will. Good bye, Albus."

"Good bye, Remus."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Harry, what's wrong with you?"

Lily looked at her son with motherly concern. During the last two days she had noticed a growing uneasiness in him and she felt that there was something he needed to talk off his chest.

Harry sighed and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. That motion gave him the attention of his father, who until now had been sitting in his armchair, his head bent over a book.

"Don't you feel well, Harry?"

"No…yes, oh I don't know. How to tell you, I mean."

Lily skipped closer to her son and lay a comforting Hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, you know that you can tell us everything. Whatever it is, just say it, we won't get angry."

She gave him a warm smile and Harry felt his resistance melt away.

"It's weird and I don't know how to find the right words. Ever since you brought me here, it felt as if I've finally come home. You said that this was as real as I wanted it to be, and there was nothing that I wanted more than this. Than you. There has always been something missing in my life, and now I know what it was. To have you back, to know what I could never have and to finally live it, that was the last piece I needed to know about myself. I see a lot of things in a different light now.

Believe me, I really wanted this to be real, I really did, but I couldn't help but start missing the things I left behind. I miss my friends, I miss Quidditch and school, Dumbledore, Remus, even Snape. Because that is my life as well, and it's just as real.

Voldemort might not exist here, but he exists in the world I left behind. And he still is a threat to my friends, a threat that I helped rising again.

They need me, they need my help to fight him and it would be a cowardice to turn my back on them now, now that they might need me. Staying here would be the easiest choice, but it would be the wrong one. I don't want to make a choice that is the best for me, but the worst for the people I care for, I am not a person who pushes away a burden when it's mine to bear. I have experienced the outcomes of such a spinelessness."

Lily's eyes filled with tears and James nodded gravely.

"You want to leave."

A statement, not a question.

Harry nodded.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius finally had given up telling stories to Harry, mostly because he was too lost in his sorrow than to think about happier times. 

Tomorrow morning, Harry would be removed to St. Mungo's and there was nothing he could do about it. He would accompany his godson and leave Remus and the rest of the staff and students alone with whatever they would have to face. Harry was his only concern, and after so many years of longing and failure towards his godson, this was the only thing he could do for him now. 

The sound of footsteps made him rise his head. Remus had come into the infirmary and smiled at his old friend. His gaze shifted to Harry and, upon noticing his still unchanged state, his smile faded a little.

"Still nothing changed?"

Sirius shook his head.

"No. But even if it takes years, I'll sit by his side when he finally wakes up."

With a sigh, Remus sank into a chair next to Sirius.

"I guess you will. You'll go with him to St. Mungo's then?"  
Sirius nodded.

"Yes, I will. I know that the Ministry needs all Aurors, but I couldn't care less at the moment. Harry is the only thing that counts now, nothing else matters."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"If it is possible, then yes, I want to leave."

James merely sighed.

"Of course it is possible Harry. I only hope that you are sure you want to do this."

Harry nodded.

"It's the only way. Of course, I could stay here with you and live the life I always wanted to have, but somehow it would feel wrong. Not because it's not real, but because the people who took this from me still have received no punishment for it. Because they might still do it to others.

I never cared about this The Boy Who Lived crap, but I've realized that I might still play a role in all this. It might be my role to eventually kill Voldemort and if it really is, then I have to go back. You understand that, don't you?"

His mother nodded and so did his father.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus was startled when Sirius spoke after long moments of silence.

"Do you know that I often ask myself what his life would look like if everything had gone different? If James and Lily were still alive?"

Remus sighed.

"Sirius, it's of no use to ask 'what if' questions. You know that, don't you?"

Sirius slowly nodded.

"I do, but I can't help it."  
He buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes.

"Sirius, have you slept at all last night?"

A hardly noticeable shake of Sirius' head was all Remus received as an answer.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep? I don't have any classes for the next hours, I'll stay here and wake you as soon as I have to leave. How about that?"

"No Remus, thank you. I don't need to sleep, not now. I'd wake up after a short time anyway."

Inwardly, Remus cursed. Sirius was slowly driving himself into exhaustion and didn't even seem to care. How on earth was he supposed to get some reason into this stubborn idiot?

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Will I be able to come back?"

Harry couldn't hide the anxious tone in his voice, no matter how hard he tried. He and his parents stood at the front door of their house to say their last good byes. Lily smiled at him.

"You won't be able to return here, no. This chance was given to you so that you learn to see things differently. But I know that it won't be long until we see each other again, trust me. We'll always be there to help you, just remember to take up our help when the moment comes. I love you, Harry."

She smiled a warm smile and for the last time took her son into a warm embrace.

"I love you too, Mom."

Wiping his face with the sleeve of his robe, Harry turned towards his father. James was smiling though his eyes seemed to be sad.

"Just take care of yourself, my son. I'm proud of you, you are far more courageous than you give yourself credit for. I love you."  
"Love you too, Dad."

For long moments, Harry held tightly onto his father, before James released him with a last ruffle across his hair. Giving his parents one last smile, Harry turned around and walked ahead into the direction he had come from over a week ago. 

His feet chose their path without Harry noticing it, and it was only a matter of minutes until he was surrounded by the thick fog again. 

'Great! Maybe I should have asked how on Earth I am supposed to get back. I could walk in circles without end and not even notice it.'

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

With a smile Remus noticed that Sirius seemed to have fallen into a light slumber. Though the hard infirmary chairs were not the best place to find a restful break, at least it was better than no sleep at all. After he had convinced himself that his friend was finally seeing to his own needs, he pulled out a book to distract himself. There were no essays to mark and no preparations to be done, so he'd use this precious moments to let his thoughts finally drift away from the harsh reality. There'd still be enough time to worry as soon as he left the hospital wing again.

For long minutes, no sound filled the room except from their breathing and from time to time the sound of a page being turned.

Remus was so lost in his book that he literally jumped off his chair when he heard Sirius' voice.

"Did you hear that???"

Gripping his chest tightly with one hand, Remus tried to still his erratic heartbeat and glared daggers at his friend.

"If you mean whether I heard you, the answer is yes. Loud and clear. I wouldn't mind if you tried to be a little less loud next time, though."

But Sirius only waved his hand at him and bent over Harry. Remus frowned his forehead.

"What is it, Sirius?"

"He moved! Harry has moved, I heard the blankets rustle!"

Remus shook his head. If Sirius now also started imagining things, he'd soon have his own room at St. Mungo's.

"Sirius, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I heard nothing."

"But I did. He moved!"

"Sirius, you were asleep, how on earth could you hear him moving?"

But Sirius didn't seem to notice him anymore.

"Harry! Harry, can you hear me? Wake up Harry, come on kiddo, I know that you can do that."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry thought he had heard voices somewhere. Could that be? Would someone guide him back?

If only he had heard where those voices had come from, then he could start walking into their direction. This way had worked when he came here, why should it not work to bring him back?"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Sirius, let's call Madam Pomfrey and see if she can find something. But I'm afraid that you only imagined things."

Sirius feverishly shook his head.

"I didn't imagine it!"

"Okay, let's for one moment assume that he did move. That still doesn't mean that he wakes up."

"Harry, Harry come on. Listen to me, please. Wake up Harry. Come back to me."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry could hear the voices more clearly now. There were two of them, that much was sure. And he knew them both. One of the voices sounded loud and disturbing and Harry didn't like listening to it. This voice kept on calling his name, however.

The second voice was a lot calmer, it didn't shout hectically, but instead talked smoothing and calmly. Harry liked that voice and he decided to focus completely on this one and ignore the other.

His feet started walking automatically, and soon the fog around him seemed to lighten.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Harry! HARRY! I know that you can do it, just listen to me, okay kiddo? Just listen to me and wake up, it's not that difficult. You have to fight it Harry."

"Sirius, if you continue shouting like this, Madam Pomfrey will come and throw you out. Please, relax and then we'll see, okay? You're far too hectic, it's no good."

"Remus, will you please leave it? I'm trying to get Harry back, okay? It's all that I can do right now. Harry, Harry come on. Open your eyes, okay?"

"Sirius, please…"  
"Remus, just…"

Both men shut up immediately when Harry stirred and moaned softly.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

If only that voice would finally stop, it started giving Harry a headache. And it made the second voice angry, and Harry had found the second voice far more likeable. But he was close now, that much he could tell. There was hardly and fog left around him and soon he'd be able to see the two people who were talking all the time. He knew them, but who were they?

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius was startled for a moment and Remus seized that time to bend over Harry and to calmly call out for him.

"Harry? Harry can you hear me? It's me, Remus. Just open your eyes Harry, it's alright. We're here."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

That was the smooth voice again, and it was so close. It was calling out his name and for a moment the annoying voice was silent. Maybe its owner had gone away? Harry decided that it was safe now to open an eye and so he did. He was a little surprised that his eyes were closed, he could not remember that he had shut them. But without another thought to that matter, he slowly opened one eye, then another, and looked into a very familiar face.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus stared open-mouthed at the sight in front of him. A pair of green eyes stared at him, somewhat unfocussed but nevertheless awake. Remus couldn't help but smile.

"Harry? Can you hear me?"

Harry nodded and managed a weak smile. Still, he kept on blinking and tried to focus his gaze. Remus suddenly remembered something and grabbed for the boy's glasses on the bedside table. While he did so, his gaze fell on Sirius, who still sat on the edge of Harry's bed and simply stared at his godson. There were tears in his eyes, but he didn't make any movement to hide them.

Remus turned and gently slid the glasses onto Harry's face.

"Better?"  
Harry nodded and smiled again.  
"You gave us quite a scare, do you know that?"

"How long…"

"It's Tuesday."

Harry's eyes widened.

"Nearly three days?"  
Remus smiled.

"No Harry, nearly ten days."

Harry took some moments to digest that piece of information and let his gaze wander across the room. Finally, his eyes settled on the form of his godfather, who tried to manage a smile.

Suddenly, it all came back to Harry. All the anger that had started boiling in him while he had stayed with his parents suddenly rose to the surface. After all that he had done, Sirius still had the nerves to sit here and smile at him? As if nothing had happened? As if he expected Harry to be happy to see him?

Harry's features immediately hardened and Sirius frowned.

"Harry?" He asked cautiously.

"Go away."

Harry's voice sounded distant and cold. Sirius shook his head in an irritated way.

"But Harry…it's me, Sirius."

Harry closed his eyes and inwardly counted to ten.

"I said: Go away!"

The icy tone in his voice would have made a mountain troll back away. Sirius helplessly looked at Remus, who merely shrugged his shoulders, then back at Harry.

"But Harry…"

Harry opened his eyes widely and rose into a half-sitting position.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU, IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND???"

Sirius kept on shaking his head in disbelief while Harry sank down on his pillows again. Reacting like this had cost him a lot of strength, but he hoped he had made his point clear.

Sirius didn't know what to think. The amount of anger and even hatred in Harry's eyes had been nearly unbearable, and those emotions had been directed at him. He had no explanation for this, why in Merlin's name did his godson react in such a way? Remus' soft voice pulled him back into reality.

"Sirius? Sirius, maybe it's better if you leave now."  
Sirius wanted to protest, but one look into his friend's eyes shut him up immediately. He nodded and left the room without another word. Remus sighed and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Harry didn't look into Remus' eyes, a sign that clearly told Remus that the boy wasn't telling the truth.

"Harry, if nothing was wrong then you would not have shouted at Sirius like that. Come on, what is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Remus nodded.

"Okay, I'll have to accept that. Maybe you want to tell me what you can remember of the time when you were sleeping."

Harry only shook his head. Remus sighed.

"Harry, please look at me."

Reluctantly, Harry turned his head and stared into Remus' eyes. There was something in Harry's gaze that made Remus shiver. Harry's eyes didn't look as warm and friendly as they had always done. Before he had fallen into that coma, such a look in his eyes had seemed nearly as impossible as his outbreak towards Sirius. But Remus quickly put those thoughts aside and smiled warmly.

"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. But there's something I wanted to tell you before everybody comes running in here and starts fretting over you.

You've been asleep for nearly ten days and there was nothing we could do to wake you up. We were all very worried about you, but especially Sirius. He was sitting beside your bed the entire time, and he'd have continued sitting there until you woke up, no matter how long that would have taken.

I don't know why you reacted like this, I can't imagine what made you so angry, but I'd ask you to talk to him about it.

And if you don't want to talk to Sirius, you can always talk to me, okay? Anytime, about anything, without Sirius getting to know it, I promise. Okay?"

For a moment, Harry remained unmoving, then he slowly nodded. Not a moment too soon, because right then, the door to Harry's room was opened and Madam Pomfrey entered, a relieved smile on her face.


	6. Professor Trelawney

_I know that this time I kept you waiting a little longer, but as I told you before, updates in this story might take a little longer. And after chapter 5 I actually reached the point where I had to go on writing before I could update again…_

_But here you go with this week's post, and a lot of A/N at the end of the chapter this time._

_First a more private announcement:_

_I'm still frantically searching for two wizards, named **Sirius ****Black and ****Remus ****J. ****Lupin. They have been taken captive by ****'evil ****spapple ****pie' and are missing now for over a week. They were last seen on a beach in **__Australia__ and their kidnapper claims that they don't want to return. Any 'out of character' acting during the following chapter is due to their absence. If somebody has any hints as to their whereabouts, feel free to e-mail me. Of course I'll treat your information confidentially…_

_Other A/N at the end, cause they are quite long again! But nevertheless funny and interesting._

_So for now – **Enjoy!**_

**Professor Trelawney**

Ron and Hermione made their way back from the infirmary to Gryffindor Tower. Every day at noon they had walked this way for the last ten days, and mostly they had done so in silence. 

Harry's state had bothered both of them greatly. Hermione had felt utterly helpless because there seemed to be no reason for his sleep, and no matter how many books she had read since her friend had not woken, she had not been able to come up with a solution.

Though nobody had blamed Ron for what had happened, inwardly he had cursed himself every day. If he had been more persistent, if he had forced Harry to go to the infirmary straight away, then maybe none of this would have happened at all.

And when yesterday evening Remus had come into the Gryffindor Common room, both Ron and Hermione had feared the worst for a moment. They had known about the plans to move Harry the next day, and though both had not liked the idea at all, they had seen the necessity behind it.

And when Remus had told them the news, Ron and Hermione had wanted to go to the infirmary straight away to convince themselves that Harry was alright. They had had to wait until Wednesday afternoon, however. Remus had told them that Harry was still quite weak from ten days without food and physical activity and they had understood. But they had also been told about his strange reaction towards Sirius, a reaction none of them had an explanation for as Remus had hoped.

And even though Harry had seemed to be glad to see them, he had told them nothing about where he had spent the last ten days. He had told them that he didn't remember anything at all, but Ron didn't believe him.

When Ron and Hermione had climbed back into their common room, they sat down on an empty sofa and for a moment only looked at each other. Ron was the first to break the silence.

"Well, what do you think about it?"  
Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

"I really don't know. I don't believe him when he says he can't remember anything. There's something he's hiding from us, and I'd bet my N.E.W.T.s that this has to do with his reaction towards Sirius. But unless he tells us, I'm afraid we won't be able to help him."

Ron nodded without really noticing. 

"He seemed different somehow. I don't know how to describe it, but it scared me. He was so distant, even cold. So unlike the Harry I know. He really scared me."

"Do you think we should search for Sirius and talk to him?"

"No, I don't think that would be wise. Give them some time, maybe they only need to have a good talk about whatever it is that suddenly stands between them."

Silence once more settled between the two as both thought about what had happened during the last eleven days. They knew that something seemed to be wrong with their friend, and the fact that everybody was expecting the castle to be attacked soon didn't help to ease their minds.

Nearly half of the students, mostly from the lower classes, had left this morning, called home by their parents because they feared for their children. Ron and Hermione however had decided not to leave their friend alone. 

Hermione knew that as a muggle-born, she was possibly even more in danger than most of the other students, but she had merely said that this danger would be bigger if she was home with her parents who would not be able to defend her against any magical attacks.

Ron had talked to his father through the fireplace, and as much as Arthur was concerned, especially about Ginny, he trusted Dumbledore enough to leave his two youngest children at Hogwarts. Besides, the entire Weasley family was busy with their own work, so staying alone at the Burrow would have left Ron and Ginny even more unprotected than at the castle.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus cautiously knocked on Harry's door. When he received no answer, he knocked again and then opened the door a little.  
"Harry? Can I come in?"

The only answer he received was a grunting sound from the direction of the bed, but he decided to take that as a yes. So he stepped into the room and sat down on one of the chairs next to Harry's bed.

"Hello Harry. How are you feeling?"

Harry rolled his eyes and gave Remus a threatening stare.

"I am fine."

"Ron and Hermione have been here?"

Harry nodded and his mood seemed to lighten a little. He had been really glad to see his friends again, but when they had visited he had not been able to really show it. He was still too confused by everything that had happened to him, so much had changed during the last couple of days. And he had not even been awake.

He knew that he had been too harsh to Ron and Hermione, but as soon as he'd see them again, he'd apologize. After all they had been one of the reasons why he had decided to come back.

Harry turned around and faced Remus, allowing him a chance to start a conversation. If he could restrain himself from talking about Sirius, then there would be no problem here.

Remus realized that he was walking on a very thin line and that Harry would block him out as soon as he'd say the wrong thing. So he quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to talk about what happened yesterday. Nevertheless, some things have happened while you've been sleeping and I think that you should know about them. Have Ron and Hermione already told you about the things that have been going on outside the castle?"

"No. What's happened?"

Harry sat up in bed and nodded at Remus, gesturing him to continue.

"The evening after Sirius left for Scotland, the night when you fell asleep, Dumbledore called the staff into his office."

"So that's why no teacher was there for dinner."

Remus nodded.

"Yes. He had received some disturbing news he wanted to tell us about. During the night from Friday to Saturday, Azkaban has been raided. The Ministry suspects that some of the remaining Death Eaters managed to overwhelm the human guards and then freed the prisoners that were caught during the last couple of months. And it appears that the Dementors have gone with them just as well."

Harry's eyes widened.

"So all those Death Eaters are free again? And the Dementors are on Voldemort's side now?"

Remus nodded.

"I'm afraid that's true. But that's not all, though we are not sure about what I tell you now. I guess you didn't know that I've spent nearly half a year in Romania, directly after we graduated?"

When Harry shook his head, Remus continued.

"The Ministry and Dumbledore sent me there because Romania has always had a large population of uncontrolled werewolves and they wanted me to have a look at how bad the situation really is. Even for me it was unbelievable how much chaos reigns there during full moon nights, and I've seen a lot of things about which I don't even want to think.

But what is important is that the authorities never got them under control. And strangely, during the last three months not a single werewolf has been sighted and not one attack has taken place. Which is impossible, not with the number of werewolves that should be there."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"And what does that mean?"

"We think that Voldemort has recruited them, just like he tried during his first reign. And if that's the case, he has his Death Eaters, the Dementors and the werewolves on his side. And Hogwarts is probably his main target."

Harry took some moments to contemplate what he had just heard.

"You think that he'll attack Hogwarts?"

Remus nodded.

"We think it's possible, even most probable. The parents have been informed and those who didn't want their children to stay here have already taken them home. We think that he might attack in nine days, on the next full moon. If that really happens, we try to take the younger students out as soon as the protection wards fall down. 

But if they don't attack then, school will continue as usual. The students will come back and it might very well be that we'll be surprised by an attack later on. That's why we prepare the students for it. They know how to kill a werewolf and we've given them lessons in the Patronus charm. Not all were able to perform it, but I doubt that even those who could know what to expect when they face a Dementor. That's why I wanted to ask you something."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I have found a Boggart. Sirius promised me to try it first, but if it doesn't turn into a Dementor for him, or if he can't fight it, then I wanted to ask you to fight the Dementor in front of the other students. I want them to be prepared for what it feels like, even if they will not experience the full extend of it. You don't need to do it, only if you want to. I know that hearing James and Lily is hard for you, so don't feel obliged to do it."

Harry thought for a moment. At first he wanted to say no straight away, he could clearly remember how much it had hurt to hear the deaths of his parents. But then he thought back to the time he had spent with them recently, and knew that it would not be as dreadful as it had been before.

"No Remus, it's okay. I'll do it if you want me to."  
"Sure?"

Harry nodded and even managed to give him a short smile.

"Yes, sure. I'll do it."

"Thank you Harry. But I'll ask Sirius first, no need to put you through this unnecessarily."

Remus got up and smiled at Harry.

"I'll leave you alone now, otherwise Madam Pomfrey will be after my hide. But I guess I'll see you back in class soon."

"Bye Remus."  
"Bye Harry."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry quickly looked up when the door to his room opened for the umpteenth time this day, and it wasn't even afternoon yet. Remus had been here twice, Ron and Hermione, Madam Pomfrey came nearly every hour, now he only needed Snape to make his day. Couldn't they all just let him have some moments for himself?

He was quite surprised when he saw Dumbledore poke his head through the door.

"May I come in?"

Harry waved his hand in an admissive gesture.

"It's your castle."

The old man chuckled and took a seat next to Harry's bed.

"My, don't let the Ministry hear that. They'd think that I'd gone completely nuts in my old days, claiming the castle to be mine. How are you doing, Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright. I feel fine and I've woken up myself this morning. Can I leave?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Madam Pomfrey wants to check you again, but then you may leave, yes. However, she wants to keep an eye on your sleeping patterns, so you'll have to come here again every morning after getting up. At least for a week."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Professor, I'm fine, why can't I just leave and go on like usual?"

"Because you've been asleep for ten days without a break, and still nobody knows why this was the case. Maybe we would know more if you told us where your mind did go to during that time."

"I've already said that I don't remember. Why does nobody believe me?"

Some moments of silence followed during which Harry tried to read Dumbledore's expression, but to no avail.

"Harry, could I ask you a question?"

Harry only shrugged his shoulders, already knowing what would come next.

"Everybody tells me that you are somewhat different since you've woken up, but still you claim that you can't remember anything. I have to admit that I am rather confused, especially concerning your reaction towards Sirius."

"I just don't want to see him, is that so hard to understand?"

"Yes Harry, it is. You and Sirius have been so close before all this happened, and now you refuse to see him. Why?"

Harry sighed and sat up in his bed.

"Let's just say that I took the time while I was asleep and thought again about some things, okay?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry with a very strange expression on his face. Harry got the feeling that the man knew a lot more about what he thought than Harry would have liked.

"Things the two of you never talked about or things you already forgave him?"

"Listen Professor, with all due respect, but I don't think that this should concern you. It's something between Sirius and me, and nobody has the right to involve themselves into it, not even you. So, if that's all why you came here, then you'd better leave, because I for my part have said enough."

He lay back on the bed again and demonstratively turned his back towards his headmaster. Dumbledore watched him for a moment and sighed. Something was definitely bothering Harry and he didn't talk about it, but instead let it poison him from the inside. With a shake of his head, the old headmaster rose from his seat and went towards the door.

"If you change your mind Harry…"  
"…I can talk to you anytime, about anything, without Sirius getting to know. I've had that one before, thanks very much."

Dumbledore shook his head and left Harry's room without another word.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Later that day, Remus made his way towards his office. He had asked Sirius to meet him there, but he was nearly half an hour late by now. His third year Hufflepuffs had kept him longer than he had planned, their Patronus lesson had gone somewhat wrong – to put it politely – and he had had to take care of some rather nasty results of Patronus charms that had turned out differently than expected.

One student had really managed it to pronounce '_Expecto Patronum' so wrong that it had turned out to produce a rather nasty and itching skin rash to the unfortunate classmate who had stood in her way at that time. It had taken Remus long minutes to sort through the resulting chaos in which two other students, who had mistaken the attempts of the cursed boy to scratch himself as efforts to put a curse on them, had started a joke duel in his class. Only after he had let off several explosions with his wand, Remus had managed to get the situation back under control and it had taken him nearly half an hour to clear away the results of the duel._

In the end, he had sent the remaining casualties to the infirmary because he didn't want to let Sirius wait any longer, but not without giving out detention to the entire class.

If they didn't realize how serious the situation was, especially for the younger students who were still rather defenceless, then they'd have to learn it the hard way.

Normally, Remus didn't like to give out detentions, but this afternoon they had really managed to annoy him. He was trying to teach them techniques that could save their lives, the least he could expect was some seriousness from them.

Remus tried to swallow down his anger and to focus on what he would say to his friend now.

Sirius had been heartbroken when Remus had finally managed to find him on the castle grounds yesterday. Though he also didn't know why Harry had rejected him like that, he had willingly taken the blame for everything and had started to dig himself deep into a depression again. It had not been easy to convince him that it might be a good idea to let Harry calm down and then address him again, but in the end Remus had managed. Tonight they would start another approach, and if the boy would still refuse to see Sirius, then they'd think about something.

Remus had just reached the Defence corridor when his keen werewolf hearing made him stop and listen. He could clearly make out raised voices, and they came from the direction of his office.

'Strange. Only Sirius should be there, whom could he be fighting with?'

But there were two voices, Remus was sure about that. Curiously, he quickened his pace and went down the corridor. The closer he came, the more he could understand from the conversation behind his office door. One voice was shouting things he could not understand while the other one, which Remus identified as Sirius', weakly repeated 'Stop, please stop!' all over again.

Every alarm bell in his head going off at once, Remus ran as fast as he could towards his office door, pulled out his wand and pushed the wooden door open. What he saw when he entered the room made the blood freeze in his veins.

Sirius was crouching on the floor near the window, tears streaming down his face and his hands raised protectively in front of him. He now no more begged for an end, he was sobbing so hard that he could not bring out one coherent word. But it was what stood in front of him that had paralyzed Remus.

In the middle of the room, slowly approaching Sirius, was James and he appeared to be angry. In fact, as angry as Remus had never seen him before.

His eyes were alight with a furious fire and he was shouting loudly at his friend, his wand aimed straight at Sirius' heart.

"And to think that I ever trusted you, you of all people, with something that meant so much to me. I trusted your decision, Sirius. You said that Peter was the best choice. '_Everybody knows it will be me, James. So they'll come looking for me while you, Lily and Harry are safe.' That's what you said Sirius, isn't it? And what happened only days after you said that? What happened, can you tell me? Voldemort came and murdered me, he murdered me and my wife! He even tried to murder Harry, he tried to kill the child you had sworn to protect with your life! And that Harry survived was not thanks to you! No, instead you foolishly went after Peter yourself and condemned Harry to a childhood with Lily's sister. It's all your fault Sirius, it's all your fault._

I am dead because of you, Lily is dead because of you, and everything Harry has suffered so far, he has suffered because of your spinelessness!"

James was very close to Sirius now, his friend barely more than a violently sobbing heap on the floor, and suddenly Remus realized what was going on. He quickly overcame his paralysis at the sight of his dead friend and shouted.

"Hey! Over here!"

James turned around and as soon as he lay his eyes on Remus, the Boggart turned into the silvery disk of the full moon and hung unmoving in mid-air.

"_Riddikulus!"_

With a *pop*, the moon turned into a slice of cheese and Remus managed to drive the distracted Boggart back into the drawer of his desk. He quickly locked it in, then went over to Sirius and dropped to his knees beside his fallen friend.

Sirius was still sobbing heavily and didn't even seem to notice that James was gone. Not exactly knowing what he should do, Remus put his arms around Sirius and pulled his friend into a comforting embrace, gently rubbing circles across his back.

"Shhh. It's over Sirius, it's gone. It was only a Boggart, this wasn't real."

For long moments, Remus held Sirius and stroke his back while he repeated his words over and over again, until Sirius finally seemed to calm down again. Remus pulled him to his feet and led him over towards the sofa in the corner, then he quickly boiled some water and made his friend a cup of tea. Pushing the warm cup into Sirius' shaking hands, Remus sat down beside him.

"I asked you to come here because I found a Boggart, but I'm afraid that you already realized that."

Sirius didn't answer to that jest, but stared at the far off wall. He quickly wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his robe.

"I just wanted to look whether you had some chocolate in your desk. You always had chocolate in your desk, normally you don't store Boggarts there."

Remus got up and opened another drawer, producing a box of chocolate frogs and some large Honeyduke's Finest Milk Bars which he handed to Sirius. With a weak smile, Sirius took them.  
"Actually, I wanted to have them for facing the Dementor."

"Well, I think that you don't need a Dementor to get yourself some chocolate, don't you think? On the contrary, I've always had kind of a soft spot for chocolate."

"More like an addiction, you want to say."

Remus smiled and chewed off a large bite from one of the Milk Bars.

"I knew it was a Boggart, of course I did. But it's been so real, Remus. It was as if James was really standing in front of me, and I just freaked out…"

Again, Remus put a hand on Sirius' back and rubbed it gently.

"For a moment, it fooled me as well Sirius. But it's not been real, that wasn't James who was standing there and that surely wasn't the way he would react to you if you met again. You know that, don't you?"

"How can you be so sure?"

Remus sighed. He had hoped that now, with Harry living with him, Sirius would finally be able to get over the past and start living again. But seeing that after all Sirius had been through in his life, the disappointment and anger of his best friend was still his biggest fear had given Remus quite a shock. 

"I can be so sure because I have known James. He loved you like a brother Sirius, he would never say something like that.

Truly, switching to Peter was your suggestion, but it was his choice. And you didn't make that suggestion because you were too cowardly to take up the burden yourself, but because you knew that they'd come after you and not Peter. You've been putting your own life in jeopardy because you wanted to protect them, and James knew that. We've been through this before, nobody could have known that it was Peter. You suspected me, I suspected you and nobody paid any attention to him. It's been the perfect plan, he fooled all of us. And James would never blame you for steeping into a trap when he himself has made the same mistake.

Sirius, we can't make it undone. James and Lily are dead and it still hurts, but the only ones who are to blame are Peter and Voldemort. And – even though it might sound morbid – but try to think about this: if you had been their secret keeper, if James and Lily had not been given away, then Voldemort would not have fallen that night. How long do you think would we have been able to go on like that? While suspecting each other, with a traitor amongst us, with Voldemort trying to kill all of us? 

We all would have died for James, but don't you think that, if he had had the choice, he would have chosen to die for us as well? That he would have taken this upon him in order to grant us and Harry at least thirteen years of living in relative peace? 

The ones who are left behind are always the ones who hurt, and I'd more than gladly give my own life to bring them back, and I know that you'd do just the same, but it's not been our place or time to die. Maybe there's still something we need to do, and I think we owe it to James to go on. We need to keep fighting, for Harry and for everybody else we care for, and we can't allow the past to haunt us. We owe it to them, Sirius."

Sirius didn't react and so Remus pulled him into his arms again. He felt that Sirius had somehow understood what he had said, but whether he believed it or not was still another question. Sirius sighed deeply into Remus' shoulder. 

"Thank you Remus. I think that Boggart would have finished me off, I owe you one. In fact I owe you a lot. For this and for – anything else."

Remus smiled.

"We're far beyond the point where we have to thank each other for everything, Sirius. And even if you had been able to react, I could not imagine any way to make this look ridiculous, really. Besides, if my class hadn't kept me so long, none of this would have happened."

"I think I won't be very much of help for your classes now, sorry."

Remus shook his head.

"It's okay, I'll ask Harry if he'll do that. Those kids really need an insight into what they could face out there, today they managed to turn the Patronus lessons into a duel practice."

Sirius laughed softly.

"Remus, slowly I start thinking that I was right and you're still not up to teaching again. First, two of your students fall desperately in love with you and you just don't realize it, and now your classes get out of control. Do you need a helping hand?"

But Remus had not even heard the last part. He pulled back from Sirius and held him at arm's length, his amber eyes giving his friend a very quizzical look.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Well, I just thought that if your classes get out of hand then maybe you need somebody to…"  
Remus shook his head.

"No, not that you idiot. What you said before. Who has fallen in love with me, how can you come up with such a ridiculous idea?"

Sirius laughed.

"Oops. I didn't really want to mention that. But now that it's already said, I've come to hear some very interesting stories about you. Remus Lupin – ladies' man."

"Speak plainly or remain silent, I really can't stand deciphering your cryptic meanings today."

Sirius laughed, the former tension somewhat relieved in their friendly banter.

"Well, before I left for Scotland, my spy in your midst told me that some Gryffindor sixth years found their Defence teacher extremely…what were the words…handsome, gorgeous, cute, admirable, do you want me to continue? They even seem to take away the sleep of some of the more ambitious students, and to give you a small hint to their identities, they seem to be very eager to help you with your classes lately…"

"No, please don't tell me that…"

Sirius grinned from one ear to the other.

"Exactly."

"No, not Lavender and Parvati! Please!"

"The very same. Now Remus, please tell me what you did to make them long so desperate for you."

Remus simply shook his head and suddenly he looked very pale and helpless.

"Nothing! I did absolutely nothing! I can't even imagine that you're telling the truth, but it seems to fit. I mean, it's true that they were very eager to help me with my demonstrations, but I  thought that they were just trying to get good grades or something like that…"

Sirius threw his head back and started to laugh heartily.

"Oh, Moony! I think I've never seen a thirty-six year old man who was more naïve than you are. Really, even Harry had noticed it, and you know that his thoughts are mostly innocent above all else."

Remus replied nothing but continued shaking his head.

"No, no you can't be right. It's not possible that those two have crush on me. Harry must be mistaken Sirius. Sirius?"

Remus looked at his long time friend and found that his expression had turned hard and he was once more staring unfocusedly at the wall.

'Great idea to mention Harry, you should really know better by now.' Remus inwardly scolded himself.

"Sirius?"

He gently shook Sirius' shoulder, the touch making Sirius turn his head towards him.

"Remus, you didn't speak to Harry today, did you?"

Remus nodded.  
"I did indeed. But, well I got the feeling that he would end that conversation immediately as soon as I started talking about you. So I merely told him what happened here while he was asleep and asked him to help me with the Dementor demonstration."

Sirius sighed and buried his head in his hands. 

"Madam Pomfrey said he would be released this afternoon. I'll ask him to come over tonight, then we can try and talk to him again."

"Don't think that's such a good idea. In the end he only ends up not talking to you as well."

"Sirius, we have to try something. That boy is confused and we need to find out why. Better do that before he has a chance to excuse himself with homework or something like that again. Worst that could happen would be that he comes here, sees you and leaves again. But at least we have to try."

Sirius nodded slowly, but obviously still not convinced that this was so much of a good idea.

"If you say so. I think I'll go for a walk now, maybe pay Hagrid a little visit. It's been ages since I've seen him."

He stood up from the couch and gave Remus a weak smile. Remus returned the smile and made a face as if he was suddenly thinking about a traumatic memory.

"Oh Sirius, let me give you an advice. If Hagrid offers you something to eat, please say that you just had lunch. Believe me, it's better that way."

Sirius grinned.

"Someone talking out of own experience?"

Remus nodded.

"Second afternoon back here. Rock cakes and Toffees. The first nearly broke my teeth off, the latter glued them together. Took me ages to get rid of them and made talking a little difficult."

"Remus, I've been searching for something to shut you up effectively for ages and now you tell me that Hagrid has found it? I got to ask him to give me some of those wonder Toffees!"

"Get out before I decide to practice a little Transfiguration, will you?"

With another grin into Remus' direction, Sirius turned around and left the office. Remus sighed and leaned back against the couch. After all those years, Sirius' sudden changes of mood still startled him to some extend, but he knew that his friend was far from being in a positive mood even though he was joking. He was merely covering up the confusion and hurt that had to be raging in him since Harry had woken up.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry was glad to finally be back in the Gryffindor Common room. After Madam Pomfrey had exercised a last huge check up on him, she had allowed him to leave the hospital around tea time and Harry had not waited another minute.

Now he sat in an armchair and tried to focus on what Hermione was explaining to him. Much to his own distress, she had volunteered to update him on everything they had covered in lessons while he had been asleep, not that he had asked her, of course. After they had gone through the Transfiguration notes of the last two weeks and then had summed up the Potions they had covered so far, Hermione was now trying to go through the Charms notes. But Harry wasn't really listening, he felt as is if head might explode.

"Sorry Hermione, but could we continue with this tomorrow? I don't think that I can pay attention any longer. And we won't have Charms till next Monday, tomorrow it's just Herbology and Divination, you know. Just Fireseeds and Trances, I think I can cope with them somehow unprepared."

Hermione gave him a disapproving look but then nodded.

"Of course, I understand. Maybe you can ask Ron what you did in Divination while you were absent, but I doubt it was important anyway."

Harry snorted.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I bet that Trelawney had a lot of fun to announce that I wouldn't wake up anymore."

"Harry! Would you please stop saying things like that? We were so worried that exactly this would happen."

Ron, who had been playing chess with Ginny, turned around when he heard what Hermione had said and nodded feverishly. Harry gave them a sheepish grin.

"I know. Sorry. It's just kind of hard for me to understand, to me it felt as if I had slept merely a night."

Ron and Hermione quickly exchanged glances, both still didn't believe that part of their friend's story. But silently they came to the decision to let that matter rest for tonight. Hermione got up.

"How about we grab some dinner and then think what we'll do tonight?"

Harry nodded in agreement and Ron looked at Ginny.

"Alright if we finish this later? I'm starving."

Ginny grinned.

"As if there was any use in contradicting when you're hungry. We can go on later, no problem."

So the three quickly made their way down towards the Great Hall.

When they arrived there, Ron quickly threw a glance towards the Slytherin table to see whether Malfoy had made an appearance, but tonight he was disappointed.

"What a pity, Malfoy isn't here. Harry, you should see his face, I can't thank you enough. You really brightened up my day. Though of course the bruise isn't as beautiful as it was when it was new, but that yellowish-green also looks good on him."

Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I really regret that I haven't seen it."

Ron grinned.

"Well, Colin said the pictures would be ready by the end of the week. We did both, muggle and wizard snapshots and I asked him to make copies for you as well. I say we decorate the Common Room with them, what do you think?"

They laughed and began to fill their plates with food. All during dinner, Ron and Harry thought about places where they could put up the pictures of Malfoy's bruises, and just when Ron suggested to put them up in the DADA classroom as 'demonstration material for healing charms', Harry felt someone put a hand on his shoulder.

When he looked up, he saw the face of Remus and it was obvious that he had a hard time to suppress his laughter.

"No Ron, I don't think that would be a wise idea. I have to teach him, you know?"

Ron pretended to scowl and Harry started to shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"What is it, Remus?"

"I wanted to ask you whether you can come to my office after dinner. I wanted to talk to you about the Patronus lessons."

Harry nodded quickly.

"Sure. I'll come down in – let's say half an hour?"

Remus smiled.

"Yes, that would be fine. Thank you Harry, see you later. Bye Ron, Hermione."

Remus left the Great Hall and soon Harry and Ron had returned to their ideas of 'Malfoy Decoration'. They came up with a huge stack of ideas, from 'Malfoy Tea Cups' up to 'Malfoy Globes for Christmas Trees'. Hermione just shook her head. 

"If any of you were just as enthusiastic about your studies I'd be a lot more at ease, you know that?"

Ron snorted.

"Oh come on, Mione. You have to admit that it's fun!"

Hermione only shook her head.

"Let's get back to the Common Room. I still have some Arithmacy to do."

Harry stood up.

"Yeah, and I have to hurry, otherwise I'll be late at Remus' office."

Together they left the Great Hall and while Ron and Hermione climbed up the staircase towards Gryffindor Tower Harry turned into the left corridor towards the DADA office. When he arrived there he checked his watch and sighed in relief when he realized that he was just in time. He knocked.

"Come in!"

Remus' voice called from inside and so Harry opened the door and stepped inside of the room. Remus got up from his chair and smiled at him.

"Harry, I'm glad that you found the time. Take a seat. Do you want some tea?"

"Sure, thank you."

Harry sat down in one of the chairs in front of Remus' desk while Remus prepared the tea and put the cups, milk and lemon onto the table. Harry looked around.

"Where is it?"

"The Boggart?" Remus laughed. "It unusually quiet, isn't it? It's in one of the drawers of my desk, unfortunately."

Harry frowned his forehead.

"Why unfortunately?"

Without really thinking, Remus answered.

"Oh, Sirius was looking for chocolate earlier today and unfortunately he opened the wrong drawer."

"And he wasn't prepared to suddenly facing a Dementor?"

Remus turned around and, suddenly realizing that he should not have mentioned this incident at all, started shaking his head.

"Let's just say that he had some problems and that he won't be able to show the students. That's why I asked you to come here."

Harry nodded, somewhat startled by Remus sudden change of topic.

"Okay. So, how did you think we'll do it?"

Remus poured some tea into their cups, then sat down in the chair next to Harry.

"Well, all classes have additional Defence Lessons now. I've checked it, most of them don't collide with your schedule. Only the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seventh years' lesson does, but Severus agreed to let you leave Potions earlier on Mondays."

Harry raised an eyebrow and asked himself whether he had heard right.

"Severus? As in 'Severus Snape'? Snape allows me to leave his lessons earlier? What's gotten into him?"  
Remus sighed.  
"Well Harry, Severus knows how important those lessons might be. But of course he told me to 'remind Potter that this doesn't mean he has to work any less than everybody else.' He said you already missed enough lessons."

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Mission Potions is not something I think about twice."

Remus laughed.

"My, my. Don't let him hear that, I think he would be so disappointed. So, wanna practice it once more?"

Harry nodded, got up and pulled out his wand.

"Yeah. Would be better, I think. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if the Boggart suddenly turned into something totally different than I expected."

Remus flinched and mumbled "you can't even imagine half of it" silently, before he opened the drawer and took a step back.

But obviously Harry's biggest fear had not changed, for shortly after Remus had stepped back, the hooded figure of a Dementor climbed out of the drawer and slowly turned towards Harry. The lights in the room began to flutter and an unnatural coldness spread around. Remus shuddered involuntarily.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_

Harry yelled the incarnation and immediately, the silver stag came out of Harry's wand and sped towards the Dementor, driving it back into a corner.

Satisfied that the demonstration had had it's expected effect, Remus quickly turned the Boggart's attention towards himself and drove it back into the drawer of his desk. The stag turned around and vanished into Harry's wand again. Remus stared after it for some moments.

"Remus?"

Hearing Harry's voice, Remus forced his thoughts back into the here and now and gave the boy a smile. It was a weird feeling to see his dead friend twice a day, both as a human and in his animagus form.

"That was good Harry, I'm impressed."

"You're okay?"

Remus nodded.

"Yes, I am. It's just still weird to see your Patronus, that's all."

Harry nodded and sat back down.

"So when do we start?"

Remus pulled a piece of parchment out of his desk, along with a large bar of chocolate.

"Here, eat this. Better be on the safe side with that Dementor. And I've made you a copy of my schedule. Don't be shocked, it looks like an awful lot, but I guess you'll only need to show each class once to make them understand. And if you don't have enough time just let me know, then we'll think about something. After all, you have a lot to catch up to."

Harry nodded and took the piece of parchment.

"It's not that bad, Hermione helps me with it."  
Remus smiled knowingly.

"Oh, that should give you an excellent preparation for the end of the year exams I guess."

Harry wanted to answer something but a knock on the door interrupted them. Remus looked somewhat uncomfortably at Harry, then called.

"Come in."

The door opened and Sirius stepped into the room. He and Remus had decided to let it look like a coincidence in order not to make Harry even angrier.

"Remus, I…Oh, I didn't know that you weren't alone."

Harry quickly got up.

"Stay. I was just about to leave anyway."

He wanted to step through the door, but Sirius still stood in front of it and blocked his way.

"Would you please let me out?"

"Harry, what's wrong? Why don't you want to talk to me?"

"Let me out please! There's still some homework I have to do."

Sirius made a tentative step forward.

"Harry, please talk to me. What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Harry turned around towards Remus.

"So now you're ambushing me or what? Really, why does nobody ever listen to what I want?"

Remus crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Harry. When he spoke, his voice was remarkably calm.

"Nobody ambushes you. We just want to know what happened that makes you act like you do."

"Nothing!!!"

Remus sighed.

"Harry, let me ask one thing of you, okay? Just sit down for a moment and listen, if you want to leave then, we won't hinder you."

Harry said nothing but sat down again, his jaw firmly clenched and his hands balled up to fists inside of his pockets. He raised both eyebrows, gesturing the two adults to go on.

Sirius sighed and sat down in the chair Remus had sat in earlier.

"Harry, I simply don't understand it. When I left for Scotland, I had the impression that everything was alright between us. Then on my way back I received an owl from Dumbledore, telling me that I should come to Hogwarts immediately. I was scared that something had happened, and when Madam Pomfrey told me that you didn't wake up I was very concerned. I sat beside your bed for ten days, and I would have gone to St. Mungo's with you if you hadn't woken up. But then you did wake up, and the first thing you do is that you glare at me and tell me to leave. Ever since then you've been avoiding me. I simply don't understand it Harry. Just give me an explanation, just tell me what I did wrong then I'll accept it. But not knowing why you refuse to talk to me slowly drives me insane."

Harry stared at his godfather and shook his head. Was Sirius really so thick, didn't he understand what he had done?

"You just don't get it, do you? Even now you're only concerned about yourself and you own pity. You, you, you, always you, isn't it?"

"Harry, what have I done wrong, tell me? Should I have not gone to Scotland, is it that? Should I have stayed here? Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's not about Scotland, don't you get it? It's about you and your idiotic, self-centred attitude. You don't even realize what you do to the people around you, instead you expect the others to pick up the pieces you left!"

Sirius shook his head and looked at Remus in search for help. But the werewolf only shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of ignorance.

"Okay, if you don't want to tell me what I did wrong then at least tell me what I can do to make it undone. At least give me a chance to make amends!"

That was too much for Harry. He jumped off his chair and glared daggers at his godfather.

"What you can do to make it undone? Nothing! That's the problem, you can do nothing! Get yourself a fucking time-turner and try not to be such a coward this time!"

With these words, Harry stormed out of Remus' office, leaving two very dazzled looking adults behind.

Both sat in silence for a long time, staring at the door through which Harry had left. Remus was the first to regain speech.

"Sirius?"

Sirius focussed his gaze and looked at his old friend. The confusion and hurt in those pale blue eyes was obvious and pained Remus.

"Look Sirius, I'm sorry. It wasn't such a good idea to talk to Harry tonight, I'm sorry that I brought that idea up. We should have waited until he had time to get adjusted again."

Sirius only shook his head and got up from his chair.

"It's not been your fault, Moony. Whatever it is, Harry obviously got a problem with me. I should not have dragged you into this as well. I think I'll retire now, maybe if we'll give him enough time he'll finally start telling what's wrong."

He nodded at Remus and then left the room without another word.

Remus sank back into his chair and covered his face with his hands. He didn't understand himself what was going on with Harry and why he reacted towards Sirius like he did, but it was obvious that it had to do with the time while Harry had been sleeping. Before Sirius had left for Scotland, everything had seemed to be alright between the two of them and only after Harry had woken up again those problems had started.

With a deep sigh, Remus rose from his seat and made his way towards his sleeping quarters. Whatever was wrong, he could do nothing than wait at the moment. Again. Sometimes Remus hated how difficult life could be.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry was glad that he didn't see any trace of either Remus or his godfather at breakfast the next morning. He really didn't want to see them, let alone have another discussion.

After he had stormed out of Remus' office last night, he had immediately gone to bed, telling Ron and Hermione that facing the Dementor in Remus' office had left him tired and drained. Both had accepted his explanation, though the looks on their faces had told him that they didn't truly believe him.

Harry had slept soundly through the night and had woken up on his own to the sound of his alarm clock, much to Ron's relief. Afterwards, he had reported to Madam Pomfrey who had once again checked him and then he had gone to breakfast.

While chewing listlessly on his toast, Harry read through Ron's Herbology notes from the last two weeks. He was quite glad that they hadn't moved on from Fireseeds yet, he had so much to catch up to in his other subjects that Herbology and Divination seemed like a relief to him. 

"Good morning Harry."

When he looked up, Harry saw that Ron and Hermione had joined him on the table. Harry smiled at them.

"Good Morning you two. I was just checking how far you have already progressed in Herbology."

Ron nodded.

"Well, you're lucky. Those Fireseeds didn't grow the way Professor Sprout expected them to, so we're kind of stuck right now. She said that maybe next week they've grown enough to harvest them. Until that is the case, we're just sitting around and watching them grow. Erm – glow."

Harry laughed at this remark, but Hermione frowned.

"Actually", she started in her famous know-it-all tone, "we're supposed to water them with gasoline and check out that their temperature doesn't fall too much. Fireseeds are very sensitive towards temperature changes, and if they get too cold, they die. That's why Professor Sprout turned up the heating in Greenhouse five a little."

Ron sighed.

"A little? That's a bloody sauna in there, with all the heat and those plants around there. Humidity must be around ninety percent, really. I really can't explain why anybody would want to spend more time than necessary in there, but Neville even volunteered to help Sprout in his free time! Can you believe that?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, Neville really likes Herbology."

The three friends finished their breakfast and then left towards the greenhouses. Ron had been right, Greenhouse five resembled a sauna more than anything else. The air in there was nearly unbearable warm and wet, and no matter what spells Professor Sprout had used to remove it, the smell of gasoline still lingered in the air.

The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff sixth years spent one and a half hour with spraying gasoline onto the Fireseeds, carefully as to not cause any explosions and always keeping an eye on the temperature of their plants. During Harry's stay in the infirmary, Neville had taken care of his plant, and Harry was more than surprised to see that it had grown far more than any other of the plant, except from Neville's own. One could think about Neville's magical abilities whatever one wanted, but he definitely had a huge talent for Herbology.

When Professor Sprout dismissed them at the end of the lesson, the students lost no time in leaving the greenhouse to grab some breaths of fresh air. Once outside, Harry stepped towards Neville and thanked him for taking care of his plant. Neville blushed a very deep crimson.

"Oh Harry, really nothing to thank me for. I was glad that there was something I could do, and I rather enjoyed it."

Harry smiled.

"Well, you definitely got a hand for Fireseeds. That plant has grown huge while I was away. Thanks again."

Neville returned the smile.

"You're perfectly welcome."

Harry nodded at him and then set off towards the castle together with Ron. Hermione had already left for her Arithmacy lesson together with Dean.

"Hey Ron, do you think that Trelawney will be disappointed to see me again?"

Ron stifled a laugh.

"Well, I'm sure that she had already foreseen that you would wake up and resume classes today. But mind you, I think that classroom smells even worse now. She's burned some sort of herbs, said it would help us to fall into a Trance."

Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Great, and I thought this day would be relaxing. But instead, I get to spend one and a half hours in a greenhouse that smells like a gas station and now I have to go into that perfumed excuse of a classroom."

Laughing, both boys made their way up into the North tower where they climbed up the rope ladder into the Divination classroom. They had just taken their seats when from somewhere in the dark corner, the well known voice of Professor Trelawney piped up.

"Well, now that we are complete again we can finally continue our lessons. My crystal ball told me that the next few weeks will be very important for your upcoming exams, so mind you and pay attention. I want all of you to take a seat, to relax and close your eyes. You have all read on Trances in your books, now I want you to try and use that knowledge. Close your eyes and free your minds from all thoughts, just focus on my voice and then look out for what you see."

"Whenever I hear her voice, the image of a bat with overgrown eyes crosses my mind."

Ron whispered from beside Harry. Harry fought hard to keep a straight face at that remark, but could not stifle a laugh. Without very much success, he tried to tarn it as a cough.

Professor Trelawney gave them a stern look before she extinguished the lights.

"Lay back and close your eyes. Don't think about anything, free your minds from all thoughts and just listen to my voice. Let my voice guide you, then you'll be able to get a glimpse into the future. Just listen to my voice."

For more than an hour, Professor Trelawney spoke to her students in a monotone way, reminding them to empty their minds and listen to her voice. When the end of the lesson neared, she walked to each pair of students, addressing them and asking what they saw. Harry and Ron sat on their bean bags next to each other and both could clearly tell that each and every single thing the students told Trelawney was vague and made up. Most of their classmates spoke about seeing a threat or dark times ahead, fully well knowing that their Professor was always very receptive for those kinds of predictions. But when Trelawney finally reached her favourite students Lavender and Parvati, Ron and Harry had a very hard time to restrain themselves from laughing out loud.

Both girls could 'clearly see' love ahead for themselves. A handsome man who finally realized his true love was in their future.

In the dimly lit room, Harry glanced over towards Ron and saw that his friend was chewing on his lower lip in order not to laugh out loud and there were tears streaming down his face. Ron looked at Harry and finally, both could restrain themselves no longer.

They burst out laughing, so loud and hard that they had to hold their stomachs. After no time, they crumbled into a laughing heap on the floor, tears rolling down their cheeks and struggling to breathe between their laughs.

"Enough! Class may leave! Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I want the two of you to stay here."

Professor Trelawney lit the torches on the walls with a flick of her wand, and the rest of the class quickly left the classroom. When Parvati and Lavender walked by, Harry saw that both had blushed deeply red and didn't as much as look at him or Ron.

The two boys finally had calmed down enough to get up on their feet again, and they made their way over towards Professor Trelawney to receive their lecture. The Divination Professor had sat down on the chair behind her desk and watched the two with a very stern expression.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I have the feeling that you don't take the subject as serious as you should. Of course I had foreseen that you would disturb my lesson, but I'm strongly disappointed."

Harry tried to make a regretful face.

"I'm sorry Professor, it was just so…funny."

Trelawney raised her eyebrows.

"Funny?"

Ron couldn't hide a grin.

"Yeah, you see, I don't think that Parvati and Lavender were…"

He stopped speaking when he saw that Trelawney's eyes had become dull and unfocussed and were staring at a point somewhere behind her ear. Ron quickly glanced at Harry, but his friend only shrugged to show that he didn't know what was going on either. Then Professor Trelawney spoke, though it didn't sound like Trelawney's voice at all.

_"Soon the time will come when it is in the hands of one to chose the path of all our futures. Only with the will to doubt everything that he believes and with the decision to sacrifice what he loves most will he be able to extinguish the dark. If he is strong enough, then there is hope and light. But if he is not, there is darkness. Darkness and Death. For all that he loves and for the world around him. The future is dark and his path is narrow. One wrong step and we are all lost. There will be death upon these grounds."_

The two boys just stared at their professor, then at each other. Both didn't really know what they had just witnessed, neither did they know what to make of Trelawney's words.

"Erm…Professor?"

Trelawney shook her head and her eyes focussed again on the two students in front of her.

"Yes Mr. Potter?"

"What did you just talk about?"

Trelawney shook her head in disbelief.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I was talking about you disturbing my lessons. There are students here who really want to learn the art of Divination, and I would appreciate it if you let them do so."

Ron interrupted.

"No, he was asking what you were talking about after that. You said something about dark times ahead, and the decision of one that would decide our future."

"Mr. Weasley, surely I would remember if I had said something like that. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go back to my work. I expect an essay from both of you about Trance Divination. Two rolls of parchment, to be handed in next week. And you won't disturb my lessons again, is that understood?"

Harry and Ron only nodded and left the room. After they had climbed down the ladder, both stood in the corridor and stared at each other. Finally, Ron spoke.

"What in Merlin's name was that? Why does she talk about death and despair and then say that she can't remember? Have you ever seen something like this?"

Much to his surprise, Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I have. Back in fourth year, when she predicted Voldemort's resurrection."

Ron's eyes widened.

"You don't want to tell me that this…" he gestured up towards the classroom "that this was a real prediction, do you?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"Dumbledore said it happened from time to time that Trelawney really predicted something. But frankly, I don't know what to make of it, really. 'One wrong step and we are lost. Willing to sacrifice what he loves most.' I don't understand it, and I don't think that we should be concerned about it."

"Do you think we should tell Dumbledore?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, what would it help? She wasn't exactly precise about what will happen. Let's just forget it and get some lunch. I'm starving."

He started walking towards the staircase and Ron quickly caught up with him. 

"Yeah, and I want to ask Lavender and Parvati about that man in their future. If I only had a clue whom they were talking about…"

Harry laughed.

"Don't remind me, Ron. I almost pity Remus, those two are a real pain in the neck when they behave like that."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron and Harry quickly pushed every thought about Professor Trelawney aside and spent the rest of the day in their common room, catching up with homework and playing chess. Harry's skills had really improved, but still he was no match for Ron, so he kept on losing game after game.

Later, after dinner, the two finally decided to get over with their Divination essay as soon as possible.

While they were doing so, Professor McGonagall hurried towards the headmaster's office. Dumbledore had called her through her fireplace and requested her presence immediately, a fact that left McGonagall somewhat worried. She just hoped that it didn't mean more bad news.

When she arrived at the wooden door of Dumbledore's office, she found it slightly ajar.

"Ah, Minerva. Please come in and take a seat. Can I offer you a tea?"

McGonagall shook her head.

"No, thank you Albus. Why did you ask me to come up here? Has something happened?"

Dumbledore's face became sad and worried, and McGonagall needed nothing more to confirm her fears.

"What is it Albus?"

Dumbledore hesitated, the old wizard looked as if he was searching for the right words to say something dreadful. McGonagall shook her head in desperation.

"Albus, don't tell me that there are still more bad news."  
"I'm afraid there are, Minerva, though this time they might not pose a threat to all of us. But still, they are no good news and they leave me completely without an explanation. 

Two weeks ago, when I told you about the Romanian werewolves, I said that here had been Death Eater activities in Romania, as you might remember. 

The Romanian authorities didn't gain knowledge of it until a couple of days ago, but it must have happened at least ten days ago, maybe even two weeks. 

All I know is that a couple of days ago, a herd of dragons was sighted in an area where they should not have been. When the Romanian authorities localized the camp where they had been kept, they found it deserted. The campsite obviously showed that a fight had occurred there, and traces of Dark Magic were found all around the place. However, none of the Dragon keepers was found, neither dead nor alive. They had simply vanished."

McGonagall shook her head.

"And why should this concern us? I mean, it's just another riddle amongst many, but at least a group of Dragon keepers represent no threat to us."

"No Minerva, they don't. But amongst those who have vanished there was one who had a connection to both, the Ministry and Hogwarts. That's what worries me, even if only for the sake of one of our students."

McGonagall's eyes widened in shocked understanding.

"You don't want to say that…"

"Yes Minerva, Charlie Weasley and his colleagues are missing. And it might be quite dangerous for us because through his father, Charlie has always had a very good insight into the way the Ministry works. He himself has helped them a couple of times in the past years. And it is not so long ago that Charlie himself has been a Hogwarts student. He knows about the protections around the castle, last year I myself explained some of the wards to him. I don't want to overestimate the danger within this, maybe this has nothing to do with Voldemort's plans at all, but if Charlie is really in the hands of the Dark Lord, his knowledge could be a huge aid for Voldemort.

Not to forget the fact that he could easily be used as a bait for either his father or for Ron, and in the latter case most likely also for Harry."

Minerva interrupted.

"Wait Albus. Let's just for one moment assume that you're right and Charlie really has been captured by the Death Eaters. Maybe they don't even know whom they have caught. And Charlie would never give something away willingly."

'If he is still alive', she added as an afterthought to herself.

"Do not underestimate Voldemort, Minerva. I know that Charlie is very strong, but I'm afraid that if Voldemort realized who he is, he won't have many problems to gather the information he needs."

McGonagall had started rubbing the bridge of her nose some moments ago and now raised her head to look at the headmaster.

"The Weasleys know about it?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, they have been told this afternoon. They want their children to stay at the castle, though. But Arthur will floo over at eight tonight and tell Ron and Ginny about it, he wanted to tell them himself."

"I see. Maybe I should go and search for them now, it won't be long until he arrives then. Shall I bring them into your office?"

"Yes Minerva, thank you."

He nodded at her and McGonagall left the office.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Just when Harry and Ron had finished the chapter on trances in "Unfogging the Future", Professor McGonagall entered the Common Room. 

Whenever she did this, Harry always got the feeling that something was wrong. McGonagall never visited the Common Room if she didn't want to tell somebody off or had really bad news for them. Both boys looked at her and their eyes grew wide when she headed straight towards them, a very serious expression on her face.

"Mr. Weasley, the headmaster wants to see you in his office. If you would come with me, please?"

Ron's face fell. He couldn't remember that he had done anything wrong lately, there had been no sneaking out after bed time, no kitchen raids and no rule breaking in general that he was aware of. But if he was called to Dumbledore himself, it had to be something serious.

With a shrug that could not entirely hide his confusion and concern, he got up and followed the head of his house out of the portrait hole. After a couple of metres, he caught up with McGonagall.

"Erm, Professor? If I might ask, why does Professor Dumbledore wants to see me? Am I in trouble?"

McGonagall turned towards him with a small compassionate smile at the corners of her lips.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I don't think that you are in trouble. But you'll have to wait until the headmaster tells you his reasons for calling you."

They walked on in silence and Ron feverishly tried to find out the explanation for all this. Much to his surprise, they stopped in front of the library.

"Wait here for a moment, please. I need to fetch another student before we go to the headmaster."

Ron waited for a couple of minutes until Professor McGonagall returned, an obviously very confused Ginny at her heels. The moment Ron saw his sister walk behind her, all the alarm bells in his head went off. If Dumbledore wanted to see them both, something must have happened with their family. Something had to be very wrong.

Ron felt as if he was going to be sick, his stomach contracted into a small knot somewhere in the middle of his intestines. This was not good.

Professor McGonagall walked them to Dumbledore's office, led them in and then left. Dumbledore rose from his seat and gestured the two students to take a seat.

"Ah, Mr. and Ms. Weasley, I've been expecting you. I'm afraid that there is something you need to be told, but we'll have to wait for a moment, I expect another visitor any minute now."

They sat in silence for some moments and with increasing concern Ron realized that all the colour had drained form Ginny's face and she was clenching her robes so tightly that her knuckles had gone white. He searched for something to say to her, but at the moment he wasn't able to find any encouraging words.

Suddenly, the flames in Dumbledore's fireplace went green and a figure stepped out, quickly brushing off the dust from his robes before turning towards Ron and Ginny.

The moment Ron recognized the third visitor as his father, he sent a silent prayer to whatever deity listening that this didn't mean what he feared it did.

Dumbledore once more rose and greeted Arthur with a warm handshake. 

"Hello Arthur, good that you came. I guess I better leave the three of you alone now."

With this, he turned and vanished through the door. Arthur sat down opposing his children and looked at them with an expression Ron had never seen before. One Ron had hoped he would never see on his father. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

"Ron, Ginny, I am here because something has happened…"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry waited for Ron to come back to the Common Room, but at half past nine he decided that his urge to sleep was too big to be ignored anymore. He got up from the couch he had been sitting on and started collecting his things together. Just as he was about to pile Ron's divination notes onto one stack, he heart the portrait hole open, followed by the sound of feet running towards the staircase. When the person ran past him, he heard a suppressed sob that identified the runner as Ginny. 

Harry curiously turned around, but all he could see was a red ponytail vanishing into the direction of the girls' dormitories. 

He frowned his forehead and was about to turn around again when he noticed Ron standing in the portrait hole, his face white as chalk which made his freckles look like dark spots in his face. Something was wrong here. Carefully, Harry stepped towards his friend and put a hand on Ron's shoulder. The other boy didn't even seem to notice.

"Ron?", he asked cautiously.

Ron's gaze focussed on his friend and within seconds, a blur of various emotions crossed his face, way to fast for Harry to identify all of them. But now he was sure that something had happened.

He took one of Ron's arms and led him back towards the couch where he gently pushed him down onto the cushions.

"Ron, what has happened?"

Ron stared at the far off wall for a moment and, much to Harry's shock, a tear made his way down Ron's cheek. He quickly brushed it away with the sleeve of his robe and started fumbling nervously at the fabric.

"Dad was here. Something has happened to…to Charlie. His camp in Romania has been raided and nobody knows where he or his colleagues are. He's either in the hands of the Death Eaters or he's…he's…Harry, he could be…dead."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. It could not be. Beyond his ability to fight it, the memories of the day when Sirius had gotten to know that Remus was dead came to his mind. Though there appeared to be the possibility that Charlie wasn't dead at all, he kind of knew what Ron was feeling at the moment. And he knew that there was hardly a way to encourage him.

Carefully, he put a hand on his friend's shoulder and rubbed his back.

"Ron, I'm sure it will be alright. They will find him, I'm sure he's okay."

Ron shook his head.

"Dad said that they don't have any idea why they should keep a group of Dragon keepers hostage. What would be the use in that?"

"But Ron, if they had wanted to kill them, then they wouldn't have made the effort to take them away first. If they were dead, their bodies would have been found. He's alive, I'm sure he is. Don't give up hope."

Harry himself didn't fully believe what he told his friend, but no way he would admit that to Ron.

**_A/N for the week, thanks to everybody who took the time to leave a review!_**

_Heather__: Don't worry, I didn't see it as a flame but took it rather seriously. And you are right, to a certain extend. Harry is easily swayed. But I wouldn't compare this situation to the Mirror of Erised in Book one. I mean, there he only saw his parents as a reflection, but now he is actually with them. I think that's still something different. And his behaviour took some time to develop, he was with his parents for over ten days after all. It's just that he got an insight into what he never had, and I think that did change him somehow._

_However, he's not going back 'burning for revenge' or something. That would be too out of character for him. I didn't want to imply that he goes back and tries to hurt/kill/harm anybody whom he considers guilty. He just went back into his world to make sure that Voldemort finds an end so that nobody else has to endure what he went through. Also, he doesn't really hate Sirius, he's just very confused and very angry and he needs an outlet for it, somebody to focus this on. It'll have a meaning later on, I hope this will explain itself then. So I don't think he's too far from canon Harry. But of course canon Harry isn't and can unfortunately never be my Harry, so I think those reactions he has are justifiable. I hope you keep on reading and reviewing just as honest as you did so far, I really appreciate that._

_Avidia__: Well, don't feel too sorry for Sirius, all of it will have a meaning in the end…*FairyTale being cryptic again…*_

_Storyspindler__: Good, because I always want to do the unexpected. And I think my story will still have something in store in that department…_

_Maryanne__: Erm…called 'creating of tension', that's why? I mean, it wasn't even a cliff hanger, was it? Well, Harry definitely does blame Sirius for something and will keep that up for a while, but as I said – it's important for the story. Haven't seen the movie yet while I'm writing this, but will have when this is posted. I LOVE Jason Isaacs and I'm just longing to see him as Lucius. I bet it'll be great. Though I always imagined Lucius to have shorter hair, don't know why._

_sarahpeach__: Hate James and Lily? Don't you think that goes a little too far? Before you do something rash, just wait until the fic is over please. Maybe you'll see some things differently then. Just remember: All things happen for a reason…or don't they? *g*_

_Brighid__: Don't worry, every review is appreciated. I appreciate everybody who leaves a remark that they've read my story, otherwise I wouldn't know if anybody actually does._

_Mrs. Moony__: Yeah, somehow it has been his fault, though he made a mistake anybody could have made and now has to live with the guilt. I mean, he's one of my favourite characters as well, so don't think that I do this because I hate him. I have my reasons, but you'll have to wait until you find out…_

_evil__ spapple pie__: Okay, now we'll deal differently with this! YOU return Sirius and Remus immediately (and I'm sure that they want to. It's just your influence) and as soon as they're back and alive in one piece, then I'll think about keeping Remus, Sirius and Severus alive, breathing and with their souls at the ends of my chapters, alright? _

_Tell Sirius that his whole self pity and complaints aren't of any use here. I know that I'm being harsh with him in my stories and I'm really sorry for making him think that I killed his best friend off. But HEY, I returned him when nobody expected it, I just as well could have kept him dead. And he'll understand everything when my story's finished, alright? He shouldn't start doubting his godson and his deceased friend so soon…_

_And tell Remus that if Sirius gets just as much as one grey hair, I'll hold him personally responsible for it. It's his job to take care of Sirius, we all know that Mr. Black is a little helpless on his own. And while you keep them captive, for your own good, don't let Sirius anywhere near a kitchen, okay?_

_And you, dear evil spapple pie, will have the answers to all your questions at the end of the story, I can't tell you more right now, okay?_

_Draco's bruise has improved a little, but he still refuses to leave his room. Yesterday I caught him in the bathroom with my makeup, so I had to give him house arrest as a punishment. I mean, that stuff was expensive and isn't meant to be used like a body lotion! Also it didn't help but made him look like a drag queen in the first stage of experimenting. Rather embarrassing if you ask me._

_A pure and innocent child couldn't be attacked by the Dementors, you're right. But – no pure and innocent children in my story, I'm afraid._

_They're not doomed yet, tell Sirius to calm down again. He totally underestimates his godson (again!), just wait and you'll see. Voldemort got the werewolves, but what that means I can't tell you now. Spoilers and all._

_BETTER than offering you Lucius Malfoy?__ WHAT? I mean, of course you're right about this married, got a child, evil, cold-hearted whatever kind of thing. But we're talking about the man who is played by Jason *f…ing gorgeous* Isaacs here, that is something, isn't it? But right now he's rather depressed because I told him that his son uses makeup, so he won't be such a good company anyway. Okay, it hurts, but I'll do it: If you return Remus and Sirius, you can keep Severus. Better say yes, because you won't get such an offer from me again. I adore Severus, it's a sacrifice for me…_

_Eva__: I was bored and still sick, so I posted earlier. Won't happen again, I promise *g*_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: What is it that everybody pities Sirius? Is it Be-Sorry-For-An-Ex-Convict-Day and I missed the announcement? Hey, I got my reasons…_

_Aurelia__: Ähm…Hermione und Ron? __Ach ja, die gab's ja auch noch. *Fairy baut schnell H+R in die weitere Geschichte ein* Würde sie NIE vergessen!_

_'mule' heißt Maultier. Oder Esel. Halt irgendwas stures, aber ich glaube es heißt Maultier. 'bald' heißt kahl – also mit Glatze. Irgendwie haben ganz viele Leute die Idee, dass Sirius auf sein Haar sehr, sehr stolz ist…_

_Er hasst Sirius nicht…nicht wirklich, glaube ich zumindest. Er ist nur sehr, sehr verwirrt und sehr, sehr, sehr sauer!!! Habe ich jemals gesagt, dass er ihn hasst?_

_Ich musste diesen Remus-Flashback einfach einbringen (amber eyes full of fear-HACH), weiß nicht warum. Bin ein Remus-addict!_

_Behalt Dein Harry Potter Weltbild bitte, denn Du liegst damit gar nicht so falsch (aber erzähl es keinem weiter…)_

_Und wenn ich Sirius wiederhab, werde ich ihn auf jeden Fall drücken. Ganz fest…und lange…und…Huch, ich bin ja hier gar nicht allein! *g*_

_Verlier bitte keinen Schlaf mehr wegen mir, das macht mir noch ein schlechtes Gewissen!_

_Anonymus-Reviewer-Who-Normally-Reads-At-Schnoogle__: Yes, I update more regularly here, just because it takes so long until a chapter at FA is updated. Thanks so much for your review, keep reading (no matter where!)_

_Narcoleptic__: Angry Teenager Mode? Have to keep that one in mind, that's great. And no, nobody (except Severus, but he's got my permission) actually is able to HATE Sirius. Did I really say 'hate' in my story? I can't recall that! Something definitely is afoot, but whether it's Dark Magic or not, we'll have to wait and see._

_Harry won't be actually teaching the other students, he'll be showing them what a Dementor feels like. If Sirius fails with it…_

_And Harry's parental break will be very important further on…it'll be the key to – Ops, look at the time! Gotta go!_

_Keep on reviewing and keep them long. That's the way they are supposed to be! Thanks a lot!_

_Vegeta__ Jr__.: Glad you liked it, keep on reading. Proper spelling, grammar and punctuation? Oh, I'm really flattered. *blushes*_

_Anonymus__ reviewer__: Okay, okay. Here you go…_


	7. Preparation For The Battle

_Okay, here we go with this week's post. I know that it's only half as long as the chapters I posted before, but as I said before, now I actually have to write the story on. It takes some more time, so the chapters will be shorter. But maybe, if time allows, I'll post more often. (not that I stuck to my 'one post a week' rule before, mind you)._

_A/N at the end again, so here you go with the chapter._

_Enjoy!_

**Preparation for the ****Battle******

Harry could not recall how he and Hermione had pulled through the next couple of days. Ever since Ron had gained knowledge that his brother was missing and possibly dead, he had withdrawn from their normal activities. He did go to classes, but neither did he seem to pay any attention there, nor appeared he to be interested in anything else. 

Harry and Hermione had tried to occupy their friend's mind with something else for a couple of times. Hermione had offered to play chess against him and Harry had tried to get him out of the castle and onto the Quidditch Pitch, but everything they had tried so far had failed.

Ron mostly spent his time in the dormitory, sitting on his bed and pretending to read a book. The other inhabitants of the dorm knew that he wasn't really reading, but nobody dared to disturb Ron in his thoughts. And whenever Ron agreed to come down into the Common Room, he merely sat next to Ginny and said nothing at all. 

And from what Hermione had told him, Ginny wasn't coping much better, either.

Once or twice Harry had already thought to ask Remus for a possibility to postpone their Dementor demonstrations, but in the end he had realized how important they were. Unfortunately, next to those additional lessons and his own struggle to catch up in classes, he hardly found any time to look after Ron, at least not to the extend he would have liked to. 

Harry started to develop a huge bad conscience about letting his friend down, and the little voice inside of his head couldn't be silenced, no matter how often he told himself that what he did was important for all of them. 

The Dementor demonstrations actually went quite well. During the last three days, Harry had fought the Boggart in the presence of all fifth years and below and till the end of the week he would be finished with the upper classes as well.

Especially the first and second years had been left very confused and drained by the presence of the Boggart, a few of them had even started crying when the lights had begun to flutter and they had felt the coldness that seemed to absorb every single happy thought from them.

Harry knew that it was only thanks to Remus' educational calmness (and his seemingly never ending supply of chocolate) that none of these confrontation had become traumatizing for the rather defenceless young students. 

But right now, four days after Ron had received the bad news, Harry was on his way to Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall had told him that morning after breakfast that the headmaster wished to see him at tea time, but as usual she had not told Harry what this was all about.

So now he stood once more in front of the gargoyle and didn't know what was expecting him.

"Liquorice"

Professor McGonagall had given him the password, and the gargoyle immediately swung aside and allowed Harry to make his way to Dumbledore's office. Cautiously, he knocked on the wooden door which immediately sprung aside and revealed the old headmaster, sitting behind his desk. Seeing who was standing there, Dumbledore smiled and rose from his seat.

"Ah Harry, just in time. Come in, take a seat. Can I offer you a cup of tea?"

Harry sat down in one of the chairs and nodded.

"Yes, thank you. Professor McGonagall said you wanted to see me?"

Dumbledore poured Harry some tea and then sat down again.

"Yes Harry, that's right. Remus told me that the Dementor demonstrations went quite well."

Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I have the feeling that they rather discouraged the younger students. I mean, they weren't even able to produce a Patronus without a Dementor present, and now that they know what it feels like…"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, I understand. But I think it will be more than just helpful for the ones who actually could produce a Patronus. Don't worry too much about the younger students, they will be the first to be evacuated in case we really get attacked."

Seeing Harry's confused look, Dumbledore laughed.

"As soon as the wards around the castles fall down, some of the teachers will apparate the younger students out. Group-Apparition. It's not without risks, but I'd rather have some students spread around the country than letting them fight. One after another, we'll evacuate every student from the castle in case we get attacked."

Harry nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"But Professor, what about Voldemort?"

"Ah Harry, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. And I'm afraid that I don't have very good news for you."

Harry frowned his forehead.

"What do you mean?"

"Well Harry, you surely remember the last time you met Voldemort. That incident has proven that the Dark Lord has grown far too powerful to be destroyed by the Killing Curse."

Again, Harry nodded.

"Yeah, and it worries me. I mean, if Avada Kedavra isn't of any use, then we can't beat him."

Dumbledore just raised a hand.

"Don't give up hope too soon, Harry. Voldemort is not invincible, there are still ways to defeat him. He has made mistakes in the past, and I think that we can use those mistakes to our advantage."

"What kind of mistakes, Professor?"

Dumbledore sat back in his seat and watched Harry for some moments, then he began to speak.

"You know that when the Killing Curse Voldemort aimed at you bounced back on him, he was reduced to a mere spirit. Barely alive and far from being powerful. He hid after that until there was a chance for him to gain a human body once again, and he was hiding because he knew that in this state, he could be destroyed. There is an ancient spell that wipes out spirits like he was one.

But then, two years ago, Voldemort finally found a way to resurrect himself and at first it seemed that he had crossed the last barrier towards invincibility. But again, he made a mistake."

Harry just shook his head and raised a questioning eyebrow at his headmaster.

"He needed blood for the rite he carried out, and I think he made a mistake in taking your blood, Harry. Truly, he might have planned to kill you after everything was over, but he failed. The fact that he used your blood to resurrect himself has connected you to him, Harry. Connected you even closer than you had been before. The extend of which you have felt last summer."

Harry just nodded and tried to fight the nausea that always overcame him when he thought back about the fits he was having during the last term.

"But how could that be of any use?"

"Well, Voldemort still wants to kill you. And if he can kill you without harming himself…"

"Then I can kill him as well?" Harry interrupted.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Somehow. You see, Voldemort is only strong as long as his body and his spirit are connected. As soon as we can force his spirit to leave the body, he can be destroyed. And that's where you come in. Harry, I don't know very much about the bond that exists between you and the Dark Lord, but I'm fairly sure that you are the one who can enforce this. In fact, I am convinced that if anybody else would try to do so, it would harm you as well."

Harry looked flabbergasted and remained silent for some long moments, trying to digest everything he had just heard.

"So you mean I have to separate his body and spirit somehow, because if anybody else tried, I would die?"

Dumbledore looked at him.

"Maybe it wouldn't effect you at all, maybe it would harm you and maybe it would even kill you, yes. But as I said, that is something I really don't know, as much as it pains me to admit that."

"But how could I manage to do that? I don't know any spell or hex or whatever to separate a body from a spirit."

Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Ah, but you don't need to – I do. There is an ancient spell that can accomplish this task."

To say that Harry was confused would be an understatement.

"But then, where is the problem about it?"

Again, Dumbledore smiled gently at his student.

"Well, the first problem is that you would have to be the one to utter the first spell and I would have to utter the second. Meaning that we both would have to face Voldemort, and we would have to do it together. And I don't have to tell you that a confrontation with the Dark Lord is something one can never be prepared for. Though I don't doubt that a confrontation with him would be highly probable in case that he really attacks Hogwarts.

The second, bigger, problem is that in order to make the separation spell work, Voldemort must be weaker than he is. I'm afraid that he is far too strong to make that spell work."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. It sounded somewhat like a plan with too many questions.

"I understand, Professor. But how can Voldemort be weakened?"

"That, Harry, is the one question I cannot answer. Distract him, hurt him physically, I really don't know. That would be the one thing in which we'd be unprepared. I know that it's a highly unsatisfying answer, but I'm really running out of answers here."

For long moments, there was silence in Dumbledore's office. Harry watched his headmaster carefully. To say that Dumbledore's last statement had confused him would be an understatement. Once again, Harry realized how old and tired Dumbledore looked ever since Voldemort had risen back to power. There was a huge weight of responsibility on the old wizard's shoulders, so many people in the wizarding world put their trust in Dumbledore to come up with a solution for the threat against them all. Finally, Harry broke the stillness.

"Professor? When I last faced Voldemort, I cast Cruciatus on Wormtail and it hurt Voldemort. Could this…I mean, maybe this is what we search for…"

Blue eyes met green and for some long seconds stared into each other, as if hoping to find the answers to all of their problems.

"Yes Harry, maybe. But I, as well as you I guess, would only use this as a last resort in case that there is nothing else we can do. We are still talking about an Unforgivable Curse here."

Harry nodded. Of course he knew. After he had cast Cruciatus on Wormtail some months previously, he had spent an entire night thinking about the impact of what he had done. Truly, Wormtail had been the traitor, the main reason why Harry had not parents at all, but still he had remained a human being and what Harry had done had been highly illegal. He had feared that he would be sent to Azkaban for this. But there was no use in pondering on this now, so Harry brought his thoughts back to the present.

"I know Professor. But about that spell you talked of, I would need to learn it."

"There is not much to learn about it, Harry. The fact that a spell is powerful doesn't mean that it is difficult to learn or use. In fact, this spell as such is just a string of ancient words which can be learned quite easily. 

What is important about casting such highly powerful magic is that the wizard or witch who does so is actually aware of what he or she is doing. You will have to focus very hard, to try and summon every magical fibre within you to put into that spell, basically very much like you have to focus on your happy memory to produce a Patronus. The spell could possibly leave you magically drained for a couple of days, but otherwise it won't have any lasting effects on you.

I can look it up and explain and teach it to you tomorrow after dinner if you like. But it is important that you are aware of what you are doing. Agreeing to what I proposed today means putting your life in danger, Harry. You will have to confront Voldemort once again, and I don't need to tell you about the danger that lies within that. I cannot guarantee that it will work, and neither can I guarantee that we will get a chance to cast our spells, or even to survive that night. Are you aware of the danger that this means for you?"

Dumbledore gave Harry a very intense look, and Harry realized that his headmaster would not accept a mere 'yes' as an answer.

"Professor, if I get this right this might be the only way to destroy Voldemort for good. And if I don't do it myself, it's possible or even probable that I die anyway if somebody else tries to do it.

And we simply have to try to destroy Voldemort as long as it is possible. He has caused so much harm already, if we let him continue then soon there won't be any hope left at all. And I'm not willing to let that happen, I've lost too much already because of him and because of people who were too cowardly to stand up against him like they should have done."

The last part of this sentence just slipped out before Harry realized what he had just said. Dumbledore nodded pensively.

"Very well Harry. If you come back tomorrow after dinner, I will teach you the spell. There's no use in wasting time, we don't know how long we still have."

Harry nodded in response and was just about to get up when Dumbledore called him once more.

"Wait Harry, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about."

Hesitantly, Harry sat back into the chair and waited for his headmaster to continue. He could guess what was coming next, and he really wished that finally people would start telling him how to live his life.

"What did you want to talk about?"

The words came out harsher than he had intended, but Dumbledore didn't seem to acknowledge this. He merely took another sip from his tea and sighed.

"What did you mean when you talked about people who were too cowardly to stand up against Voldemort like they should have done?"

Harry hesitated shortly, wondering what this meant, but then answered, staring at his feet..

"Well, Wormtail. I thought that was obvious."

Dumbledore only shook his head.

"Harry, I've known you for a very long time now, since you were a baby to be exact. And though I admit that I have not been present for most of your childhood but probably made the biggest mistake in letting you grow up with your relatives, I think I've gotten to know you quite well since you started at Hogwarts. And the boy I got to know reminded me very much of his parents. Talented like them, not as studious as Lily was but rather taking things like they come just as James did. A natural flyer like your father. Daring and courageous, never afraid of adventures and taking every mean to protect your friends. Compassionate like both of them were, just remember the night when you first met Sirius. You hardly knew him, everybody told you that he murdered your parents and wanted to kill you. But you believed him and pleaded for his life. Actually saved his life.

Though you never knew them, you are so very much like your parents. And just like your father when he once more stood in my office after he had broken another school rule, you are a very bad liar."

Dumbledore smiled, obviously caught in a memory of James standing in his office, most probably accompanied by a fuming McGonagall.

"James never was able to lie when they were caught, it was easy to tell whether he was telling the truth or not. It's always been Sirius who tried to bail them out verbally, that was his skill. But James wasn't like that, he always looked to the floor when he didn't tell the truth. Just like you did now. Tell me Harry, what is bothering you."

Harry bit his lower lip and fought an inner battle. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything, didn't he? Why couldn't that man just leave him alone, why on earth did he actually bother about what Harry was thinking?

"Well, you did answer your question yourself, didn't you? You said that I was just as compassionate as my parents were. That I believed Sirius when nobody else did, that I pleaded for his life. For the life of a man whose biggest skill is to convince people of what he wants them to believe. Just like my parents, I allowed him to convince me of his version of the things that happened. It has cost them their lives, but I won't allow it to cost mine."

Dumbledore looked at Harry, his blue eyes unreadable.

"What makes you believe that, Harry? All of a sudden?"

Harry just laughed harshly. 

"I don't need a specific event to finally see the truth, do I? After I woke up in the hospital wing, I was eventually able to see behind some things and I realized that everything was just about him and what he wants and does. But not anymore. And do you know what else? I think I'm right when I think like that. Just a couple of days ago, Professor Trelawney made a prediction, very much like she did when she predicted Voldemort's rise back in my fourth year. A prediction that concerns me, at least I think so. And she said that only if I start doubting everything I believe I'd be able to defeat the dark. And now, with all due respect, I'd ask you to let that matter rest. This is a thing between Sirius and me, and finally I am able to make my own choices. I'd ask you to respect that."

"Harry, I respect your choices and I have always done. But neither Divination nor family relations is something for which there is just one was to interpret it or just one way to handle it. And – if you don't mind me giving you an advice – willingly hurting people you love without even telling them why isn't a way to defeat the dark. It's a way into the dark."

Harry just raised an eyebrow and got up from his seat.

"I'll come back tomorrow after dinner, then we can talk about that spell. Good night Professor."

"Good night Harry."

Harry left the office without another word and Dumbledore sank back into his seat with a heavy sigh. Fawkes left his perch, and after flying a couple of rounds around the office, settled himself on the old wizard's shoulder. Dumbledore stroke his feathers absent-mindly.

Sure, he now knew better why Harry all of a sudden rejected Sirius, and he strongly believed that this had something to do with where Harry's mind had been during the time he had been asleep. But where had Harry been and what did he see there? Dumbledore strongly suspected that there was a reason behind what had happened to Harry and he feared that it was connected to Voldemort.

But how could he possibly convince Harry of that?

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Wormtail!"

A small figure emerged from the shadows of the hall and fell to his knees next to the armchair from which the voice had come.

"Y-y-y-es m-master?"

"Get up! Now tell me, how is the situation in Wales going?"

Wormtail quickly got back to his feet and started his report, all the while avoiding to look directly into Voldemort's eyes.

"E-everything is the w-way you planned it, m-master. McNair says that we are able to strike w-whenever you order us."

Voldemort nodded.

"The Dementors?"

Wormtail shivered involuntarily. He had been in the hiding place in Wales by the time the Dementors had arrived there, and their presence had affected him badly. Especially since he knew that their constant presence was what supposedly awaited him, should their plans fail and he get caught.

"T-the D-Dementors wait for your orders, master. B-But McNair said that they might need h-human prey soon, or they w-wouldn't be able to stand back from attacking the D-Death Eaters, m-master."

Voldemort nodded and thoughtfully scratched his chin. Finally he looked up.

"They will get their prey when I order it, and they better restrain themselves. Tell that to McNair. They don't have too wait very much longer. Go now."

Wormtail bowed and made his way towards the door. Just as he reached it, his master called him once more.

"Oh, and Wormtail?"

"Y-yes master?"

Wormtail didn't like the sly grin that played around Voldemort's lips.

"I think I don't need to tell you that another failure like last autumn isn't acceptable.

_Crucio!"_

Wormtail immediately fell to his knees and screamed in agony. No matter how often he was put under that curse, and since the events of last autumn it had been nearly daily, he could never be prepared for that pain. Eventually, Voldemort removed the curse and Wormtail lost no time in fleeing from the hall.

Voldemort smiled slyly and put a hand onto the Dark Mark on his left forearm. Not even a minute later, a knock sounded from the door.

"Enter, Valeria."

The doors flung open and a tall woman, clad in black robes that billowed after her, strut into the room. Her appearance could not have been more different from Wormtail's, her bearing showed no sign of fear, merely a large amount of self-confidence and respect for the man she was about to confront. She came to a halt in front of Voldemort's armchair and bowed, her long brown hair falling over her face as she did so.

"You called me, master."

Voldemort nodded.

"Yes, I did Valeria. Tell me, how are things going with our project?"

Valeria rose into an upright position again, revealing the fact that she was unusually tall for a woman. 

"Everything is going as planned, master. The potion is administered daily, and so far there is no sign indicating towards any unexpected side-effects."

Voldemort allowed himself to smile.

"The guards?"

Valeria nodded.

"Do as they are supposed to. There have been no problems with them, and I will personally see to it that there won't be any problems with them in the future."

"Very well, Valeria. Very well. We will keep this up for some time longer. I want to be informed immediately as soon as anything unexpected happens. Don't disappoint the faith I put in you, Valeria. You'll be informed as soon as it is time to act upon our plan."

Valeria bowed once again.

"I won't fail you, master. Everything will work the way you have planned, I guarantee."

"Very well. You may leave now."

"Master."

Another short bow and with a swish of black robes, Valeria had vanished out of the doors. Voldemort got up and walked towards the fireplace where Nagini lay curled up on a rug. Recruiting Valeria Salenin had been the best idea Lucius Malfoy had ever had. The woman had graduated from Durmstrang a couple of years ago and was one of the most brilliant Potion brewers in the entire wizarding world. True, she wasn't a match for Severus Snape, but what she lacked in skill, and it wasn't much, she made up for in inventiveness and creativity. A huge part of his plan would not have been possible to accomplish without her and her ideas.

And, to be bluntly honest, her presence was refreshing. Though she sometimes seemed to lack the due respect, she always showed that she was fully aware who the master was and who was the one standing in duty. And – very much unlike Wormtail and a lot of other Death Eaters – she didn't seem to faint by the mere sight of him. On the contrary, she seemed to search his presence whenever possible.

Valeria Salenin clearly enjoyed being surrounded by power, and she enjoyed the power Voldemort gave her. Her skills, her lust for power, her will to subordinate herself under a master who could bring her to ever new heights of authority and control, as well as her strong will and pride made her a very powerful ally indeed. And an enemy that should be dreaded.

Voldemort allowed himself another sly smile.

Soon, the time would come to show Dumbledore and the Ministry, and all the other 'allies of the Light Side' what he was truly capable of. That day would be the greatest day in his life and he would enjoy every single moment of it. 

And the day would come soon…

…soon Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic and the time in which mud- and halfbloods still had their place in the wizarding world would be over, and nobody would be able to prevent it. Not Albus Dumbledore, not Hermes Wielding, and especially not Harry Potter.

Soon…

_WOW, the 6th  chapter hasn't even been posted for 12 hours and already so many people have reviewed. And so many LONG reviews, did I tell you how much I adore them?_

_Okay, here you go, in order of appearance (they are all in English, even to those who reviewed in German. Just because I think that maybe it's too confusing for the non-German-speakers around here, in case they want to read it…)_

_Narcoleptic__: Yepp, first reviewer for chapter 6. Congrats! I know that Charlie is cool (though I think he's far more cool than Bill. I mean, he's working with dragons and not just breaking curses. And I already harmed Bill in The Last Marauder, so it had to be Charlie.) What has happened to him? Wait and see…_

_Harry's getting nowhere acting like this? Sure about that? I wouldn't be if I were you…_

_I've given up searching for Sirius and Remus, everybody seems to be against me in this case. I'll keep on writing them anyway, whether they like it or not! You'll see what you get from this! *Laughs evilly to the sound of threatening music*_

_darkphoenix__: Everybody seems so concerned about the character death…hmmm, why I ask myself…Anyway, you'll all have to wait for the last or second to last chapter to see that, you be patient my dear readers…_

_No mortal wound inflicted on Draco and Lucius. Do you really think I could do that? I mean, I've adored Draco from his very first appearance in Philosopher's Stone, and ever since I've seen the second movie I'm a huge Lucius Fan, so I could never hurt them. I think…_

_Heather__: You're right, just sit back and wait till everything is explained. I hope my explanations will be able to satisfy you. About the prediction – well, it isn't too difficult to guess whom that prediction is about, is it? And as far as Harry's sleep is concerned – it will all be explained towards the end, I promise._

_Bruised little ferret ahead, I promise._

_sarahpeach__: Thanks a lot! Actually, it'll take a little time until the Harry/Sirius thing is resolved, but that has its reasons. You'll see, I promise. That's when James and Lily make another appearance. So until then, keep on hating if you like. Maybe even afterwards, who knows?_

_Mrs.__ Moony: Patience, my dear, is a virtue. So you'll have to wait until I make my reasons clear. Wait until the end…_

_Eva__: What do you mean you don't need Remus in Time Toss? No Remus there? *sobs* But the posts will delay a little, I still have to write the next chapters. So far, I've only written the ending and somehow I have to get there now…_

_evil__ spapple pie: OK, you get your will, keep them if you like. They only caused fracas in my flat anyway. But that won't hinder me from writing the story the way I intended to, no matter how much Remus and Sirius complain about it._

_Tell Sirius I'm sorry about the Boggart incident. It wasn't really that necessary for the storyline, but I added it anyway to underline some things. And Remus is already so grey, another few strands won't be that disturbing. He has to accept that he's not twenty anymore!_

_The fact that he doesn't deserve the two fawning teenagers makes it even more funny, don't you think? Tell him to take it as a compliment, I mean, they fell in love with him despite all the grey hair…_

_Harry will see the bruised ferret, don't worry. But he was asleep while the bruise was at the height of its beauty, so he'll have to rely on the pictures. I didn't ask Colin to take pictures from the makeup incident, because I still have some compassion left for Malfoy._

_Don't call me a murderer before you've seen the bodies. I haven't killed Charlie yet, he's just one of many possibilities…and didn't I say that the character death would be someone who appeared more often in canon? Charlie wasn't exactly playing an awfully big role…not that I rule this possibility out, of course._

_Again, tell Sirius not to doubt his godson too soon. I agree, both definitely need to talk, but Harry just isn't ready yet. Just tell him that all things happen for a reason and for Merlin's sake give Sirius some chocolate to pull him out of that depression. He's of no use otherwise._

_Sirius definitely isn't the better cook, believe me. Last year he tried to extinguish burning oil with water, he blew up the grill on Harry's birthday barbeque and he put a metal pot into my brand new microwave. Enough reasons to keep him out of the kitchen?_

_Tell Sirius that they are not doomed yet, whether he believes it or not! He has to trust me! Though maybe you should stack up on pain-killing-potions a little…_

_And it's your own fault that you have three fighting wizards in your house now. You should have known better than to take Severus while Sirius and Remus are still there. Maybe you should confiscate the wands._

_Harry put the prediction out of his mind so easily because he couldn't make sense of it (and because I was too tired to write otherwise). He will make sense of it eventually, but that's not till the end of the story, of course._

_What could he possibly love most – or whom? I give you a hint: It's neither Quidditch nor a girl or something like that…_

_Leonie__: I missed you during the last chapter! And now don't go pitying Sirius everybody, not before you know what's really happening? Really, is there a Compassion-For-Former-Convicts-Club (CFFCC) of which I haven't heard so far?_

_There won't be any real pairings in here. I know that Harry has earned a break and a girlfriend, but I couldn't write romance if my life depended on it. Really! Well, there will be a little Ron/Hermione in it eventually, but I don't know yet when. Before or after Valentine's Day? (remember the bet) *g*_

_Brighid__: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy the story so much. Unfortunately, I cannot answer your questions, as you'll surely understand. Keep on reading, and you'll find all your answers in the end. *g* And yes – that's Sirius, you're right. But Harry doesn't know that, does he? As I said, read on and you'll find out._

_anaticulapraecantrix__: I can't confirm you there. But believe what you want, you'll have to wait to find out. Sorry 'bout that. And yes, the Boggart thing was mean, I admit. But I so wanted to write that scene…is that sick? I think it is. *calls up anonymous-character-torturer-help-phoneline*_

_Avidia__: I like cryptic as well! But no happy places, no holding hands, no kumbayo. At least not now. But I don't think later, either. _

_Vegeta__ Jr.: Easyish to read? Hmmm, if you think so… But even if you were right (and I'm not saying that you are, mind you), then you still wouldn't know what would be the outcome of it! :-P_

_But what the heck does 'raise more Kane against Hogwarts' mean? What's Kane? Please enlighten my poor German soul!_

_A.Dee__: I've apologized for nearly killing Remus off, but I guess my readers will never forgive me that one, will you? And what would happen to Sirius when he got to know about Harry's dreams? Hmmm…nervous breakdown, depression, suicide? I don't know, but I'll think of something…*g*_

_And I never said that nobody would go crazy in that story, just not the way you suggested…*g*_

_Schwester__ Aurelia: I totally agree with the 'best slash pairing in the world' thing. I **do, you know that! But I don't think that Harry compares this situation to the one in TLM right now. He's being selfish, how very unusual for him. Sad but true.**_

_I don't think that Dumbledore can read thoughts, I think that he's just very observant of things that go on around him, he notices things that hardly anybody else does. Just like Sherlock Holmes, in a way. He pays attention to every detail and is very good at combining them._

_Suicidal Sirius…hmmm, interesting idea.___

_I absolutely love writing conversations between Sirius and Remus. Kamining, I think we make that an official English verb now. And Remus is the voice of reason, I mean, somebody has to be and obviously Sirius puts himself shit out of line with how he always behaves._

_I **know that Remus is gorgeous, I have ****founded most of those fanclubs. Only joking, but I wish I had. *sniff***_

_Sorry, you can't order the 'Bruised-Malfoy-Cups' yet, I'm still waiting for Colin to get the pictures ready! *g*_

_And you don't want to know what Remus had to promise Severus in order to get Harry out of Potions for his Dementor lessons. You really don't want to know…(well, actually I don't know myself)_

_to__ flinch means 'zusammenzucken' (FairyTale, the walking-talking English/German dictionary)_

_I don't know what Fireseeds are, I invented them (with a little help from the Philosopher's Stone Computer Game)_

_Give Lavender and Parvati some Sirius/Remus slash stories? That idea is great! Hmmm *thinks very hard and opens up her notebook* I'll save that one for later, if you don't mind…_

_And yes – I **LIKE it ****DARK! And it's still getting darker!**_

_And I really don't know why the villains always have to look so f…ing gorgeous, but it's true. Anybody joining my Lucius-Malfoy-Fanclub after seeing the movie? *g* Jason Isaacs…hmmmm *melts away*_

_Ops, gotta go on, otherwise I won't be able to post this soon._

_Bobbi__: Thanks so much, it's always encouraging to hear that people are able to understand what I want to express, even though English isn't my native language. But it's far easier than German, so I don't envy anybody who has to learn my native language. **I wouldn't want to have to do that!**_


	8. Full Moon Over Hogwarts

_Of Mistakes and Such:___

_Okay guys, here goes my dream of a flawless story. Though I have a somewhat correct timeline in this story (Hey, I have improves since "The Last Marauder"!), some mistakes have occurred and I'd like to set them right now._

_1.An__ anonymous reviewer kindly informed me that Hogwarts is in __Scotland__. (Which I of course knew but merely totally forgot.) This makes Sirius leave for __Scotland__ in the earlier chapters somewhat ridiculous, especially since I let it sound like a bigger journey. Sorry for that one._

_2.In__ chapter 7, when Dumbledore calls Harry back to talk about Sirius, it should of course read 'he really wished that finally people would **stop telling him how to live his life', not '****start telling him'. Doesn't make sense otherwise.**_

_3.And__ another one which is not my mistake though: I double-checked my story. And guess what I found there? I never (repeat: NEVER) wrote that Harry hates Sirius. That's the way you read it, and though I don't mind you to make up your own minds about my story, it just isn't true. Harry doesn't hate Sirius, he's just very angry and pissed off and therefore refuses to talk to him. A lot of people have asked for the reason why Harry 'hates' Sirius, which startled me somewhat. There is no deeper reason than what I described while Harry was asleep. He was finally able to be with his parents, he realized what he never had, and somehow (maybe supported by James' reaction to what Sirius had done), Harry started to search a scapegoat to put the blame on. Which was Sirius, because he talked Lily and James into switching and else, you know it from canon. That's it folks, there is no huge mystery behind it. Maybe re-read the chapters once more, then it might become clearer. If not, the author is the one to blame._

_So, because the last post was a little short (well, actually not, but it was only half the length of most of the chapters in The Final __Battle__), so here you go with another shorter one. Combine them, and you get this week's post. Boosts up the chapter numbers anyway. Bruised!Draco Malfoy ahead, and he's just as witty as ever!_

_But for now some A/N, just as usual:_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Harry doesn't hate Sirius, see above. And technically he won't be the one to kill Voldemort, he'll just finish his body off if you want to put it that way. The rest will be left to good ol' Dumbly._

_Nice rambling about the future role of Valeria, but not quite right. There won't be any woman for Sirius in the near future, not even a Death Eater on a mission. He's got Remus *g* (no, this isn't a slash story, don't panic.) Sirius just won't have time for a woman and Valeria will also be…occupied otherwise._

_Heather__: Mr. Spock, is that you? Here you go, anyway._

_evil__ spapple pie: You didn't have to do mouth-to-mouth respiration on Severus, did you? Maybe I should take him back, doesn't sound as if he would have the time of his life with Sirius and Remus…_

_I'M NOT EVIL! It's just those voices that tell me to do things…and yes, I have to put Ron and Ginny through this. It's still getting worse, though._

_You have a SWIMMING POOL? When can I move in?_

_There might be a way to weaken Voldemort, just remember…*g* and always keep an eye on the prophecy! As for why both Harry and Dumbledore will have to say spells: Harry has to separate Voldie's spirit from the human body, if somebody else does it, it might harm Harry because of the bond they share. Then Dumbledore will use a different ancient spell to wipe out the spirit. At least that's the plan._

_Vanilla Coke?__ Coke as in 'brown lemonade, very famous, red label'? And Vanilla as in 'Vanilla ice cream'? Ugh, that's disgusting! And fortunately not available here in __Germany__.___

_And yes, I have compassion for Draco. After all, he helped Sirius out not so long ago. And it's all because of his evil father, anyway. *g*_

_I'm not telling you who will have to die. End of discussion._

_I wouldn't trust a man to do the cooking who normally boils animal intestines in huge cauldrons. Even if his pancakes were good. _

_Just stock up on pain-killing potions, maybe some aspirin, a couple of bandages and always keep the phone line clear to call the emergency transport. Don't ask why, you don't want to know._

_As for the big question: Whom does Harry love most? Hmmmm…his family? You sure?_

_You had Jason Isaacs within a two hour reach? And you didn't go there to grab him, bring him to your house and never let him out again? How could you? *g*_

_Mrs__. Moony: As for the hate thing – see above. And patience you will have to learn…_

_Anonymous__ reviewer: Thanks, I like their bonds too. And thanks for the hint about __Scotland__, it totally slipped my mind. But I do care._

_Eva__: Thanks! *grabs temporary Remus substitute and leaves with a huge grin on her face*_

_Bobbi__: It should be interesting indeed…_

_Narcoleptic__: Yepp, the chapter was shorter, it wasn't just your imagination. But I was threateningly close to another writer's block, so I published it anyway. Here's the rest, chapter 7 and 8 were actually meant as one chapter._

_I don't pity Wormtail just because he's cursed a little. I mean, that man betrayed his friends for a master whom he can't even face without being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Okay, maybe I exaggerate the Crucio thing a little with him, but hey – everybody needs a hobby!_

_If you've seen the name Valeria before, then not in any connection with my stories.__ And I think I didn't steal her (at least I hope so). Made her up, and believe me: I'm awful in thinking up OC names._

_Maybe Snape can teach Harry how to lie properly. *g* But at the moment Severus is enjoying his holiday in __Australia__, I'm afraid. Ask evil spapple pie, she's taken him, too._

_Draco ahead! Including the bruise!_

_Leonie__: The first answers will come soon, I promise. We're slowly reaching climax, and I already have two very nice cliffhangers there. Just like in The Last Marauder (Remus???). *g*. Only different ones, of course._

_As far as the plan is concerned, you'll have to wait. One or two chapters, then things go round!_

_A.Dee__: Sorry 'bout your friend, and sorry 'bout upsetting you. But you can calm down again, I'm not planning to let Sirius (or anybody else, for that matter) commit suicide. I was just rambling around. You will see how Sirius reacts when he hears the truth about Harry's dreams, but I guess it will be different from what you expect. Because until that happens, a lot of other things will have taken place._

_Leap__ of Fate: TLM and TFB within one week? Wow, I'm impressed. And flattered by all those nice words you found for them. Thanks for reviewing TLM, it's always good to find some new remarks there. And here you go with another chapter. _

_valjean__: Thanks a __Lot__!_

_Aurelia: What am I going to do with you? Well, let's take the questions into this reply and all the other stuff into an email, how about that?_

_liquorice__ heißt (laut meinem Langenscheidt) Lakritze! __Hah, didn't expect that one, did you? *g*_

_The gargoyle in the movie was awesome! I loved it (Not as much as Jason Isaacs, but still…)_

_invincible__ ist eher unbesiegbar._

_nausea__. __Hmmm, Brechreiz?_

_I see, you're on the right track. What did they do in TLM to weaken Voldemort…_

_And yes, it's 'stop telling him how to live his life'. I realized it shortly after I updated, but then I was too lazy to remove, change and update it again. And no, I didn't steal the line about being a very bad liar just like his father. At least not that I'm aware of. It just came to my mind when I imagined Sirius standing in Dumbledore's office with a perfect explanation for what they had done. 'And what about you Mr. Potter?' __à__ James looks at his feet and blushed. Something like that. *g*_

_You sound as if Harry was close to dooming the world because of his behaviour towards Sirius. Hey, it's not very nice of him, but it's not that bad either. *g*_

_Your idea about Valeria was close. It wasn't exactly what she's there for, but it's somewhat related to what you suggested. But I won't say more (because of the 180° turns, you understand…)*gggg*_

_I never said something about murder/killing. I said something about character death, that's something completely different! Maybe someone dies peacefully in his/her sleep. Okay, you've read my other stories, you surely won't believe me. But you'll see what happens…_

_And you and Enisha are officially enlisted in the Lucius-Malfoy-Fanlcub. What do you think why he has so far been kept safe by me? I couldn't hurt him. But now that I've seen the movie, I need a way to bring Lucius into this story, even if it hadn't been planned…hmmm *thinks very hard*_

_So, that's it for this week. As always, keep up the reviews, I absolutely enjoy them. Go on and speculate on how it will go on, I'm curious what you think. _

_Enjoy!_

**Full Moon Over Hogwarts**

Oblivious to Voldemort's plotting, Harry spent a rather peaceful night. His sleeping patterns had returned to normal and finally Madam Pomfrey had agreed that he didn't need to report in the infirmary every morning.

Dumbledore and Remus had agreed that it might be rather urgent to complete the Dementor demonstrations. After Harry had left Dumbledore's office the previous evening, the headmaster had called Remus and after a long talk both had agreed that they shouldn't rely on an attack during a full moon night. There was still the slight chance that the disappearance of the Romanian werewolves had nothing to do with Voldemort at all, or that he didn't intend to send them against Hogwarts, and in that case an attack was possible at any time. They had come to the conclusion that it was rather important to show the impact of a Dementor attack as soon as possible.

So, when Harry sat on the Gryffindor table the next morning, ready to start the day with a huge breakfast, Remus once more approached him.

"Good morning Harry. Ron, Hermione."

Remus nodded his greetings to Harry's friends an then sat down next to him. Harry looked a little startled, but repeated the greeting.

"Good morning Remus. Is anything wrong?"

Remus shook his head.

"No, not directly. It's just that Albus and I had a talk yesterday evening and…"

Harry interrupted.

"Listen Remus, whatever he told you, forget it. I don't want to talk about Sirius and neither do I want to talk with Sirius. Could you all just stop it?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned that he and Harry had been talking about Sirius, not with one word.

"Well, actually Albus and I talked about the Dementor demonstrations."

"Oh."

Harry blushed and embarrassedly avoided looking Remus in the eyes.

"What about them?"

"We have agreed that we might not have enough time to keep the schedule up. Full moon is just three nights away and we can't be absolutely sure that Voldemort will attack that night. Maybe he'll do it sooner, without the werewolves. Albus will make some announcement after lunch today, and I wanted to ask you whether it would be okay for you to show the Dementor to more than just one class at once."

Harry thought about it, then nodded.

"If it's sure that nobody will distract the Boggart. It would be quite useless otherwise."

"Yes, we thought about that. But all the students who have already been demonstrated will leave after lunch, which leaves only all the sixth years and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seventh years. The Great Hall is big enough to bring some distance between you and the rest of the students. And just in case the Boggart turns towards the students, Severus will be there to help me sort it out."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Snape will be there? Why that?"

Remus just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I wanted another teacher present and he was the first one I met this morning. He immediately agreed. Come on Harry, I know that you don't like him, he's not my best friend either. But as long as he's your teacher, you'll have to be able to stand his presence."

"Well Remus, from everything that I know you thought differently about him while you were still at school."

"Yes Harry, but that was a time during which the greatest threat was that one of us could be expelled. Now the castle and all the students that have remained here might be in immediate danger and we need every capable wizard to turn that danger away. And no matter what I think about him personally, I am completely willing to admit that Severus is more than just a capable wizard. I would have thought that you were mature enough to make that chain of thought on your own."

With this, Remus got up and left the table without another word. 

Hermione gave Harry a scolding look and even Ron, whose expression had been one of complete listlessness and disinterest during the last couple of days, looked somewhat startled.

"Harry, did you have to say that?"

Harry turned towards Hermione and merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry too much about it Herm. Remus is just tense and nervous like the rest of the teachers are as well. You should have heard him during the last holidays, he was talking quite differently about 'Severus' then."

"Speaking of which, we have to leave for potions. Come on Ron, we need to go."

Without answering, Ron got up from his breakfast, which had remained untouched and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall. Harry shook his head while he followed them. He definitely needed to talk to Ron, otherwise his friend would drive himself into exhaustion without even caring about it.

They arrived just in time to enter the classroom in front of Snape who gave them a cold sneer. Obviously he was disappointed that they weren't late.

The three Gryffindors took their usual seats at the back of the classrooms and started pulling out their books and setting up their cauldrons while Snape shut the door loudly and strut in front of the class.

"Today we'll prepare the Cruoris Potion, a very useful potion when you are taking care of a person who has suffered from an extreme blood loss. Can anybody tell me what the main ingredients of the Cruoris Potion are?"

Hermione's hand immediately shot in the air, as usual. But Snape ignored her, just as usual. Then Malfoy rose his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"The main ingredient of the Cruoris Potion are pine needles, crayfish liver and an essence from slug skin."

Snape nodded.

"Correct Mr. Malfoy, ten points for Slytherin. Now, I want you to open up your books on page 247, there you'll find the receipt. The crayfish liver and slug essence are to be taken from my desk. At the end of the lesson, you'll leave a sample of your potion on your desk to be graded. What are you waiting for?"

Hurriedly, the students began to set up their cauldron and fetch the required ingredients. They worked in silence for a couple of minutes, cutting pine needles and liver, while stirring the potions and adding the other required ingredients. When Harry and Ron set their potion to simmer, Harry had the first opportunity to look around in the classroom. Malfoy and Goyle on the desk next to him were still occupied with their potion and with a grim satisfaction Harry noticed that the bruise he had given the Slytherin was still clearly to be seen. Though he could only guess what it had looked like when it had been new, its slight greenish-yellow colour was brightening up Harry's morning. 

As if feeling Harry's gaze, Malfoy turned around and looked at him.

"Something wrong, Potter?"

Harry grinned.

"No nothing. But the next time you use Parkinson's makeup, you should remember to put the eye shadow on the eye, not on the cheek."

Malfoy spun around and for a moment Harry thought that he would hit him. But then, Malfoy only sneered and took up the spoon again to stir the potion.

"I should have guessed that you know about the use of makeup, Potter. Who taught you, the mud blood? Or did you try to hide the Weasel's freckles?"

Harry was just about to answer something, when Snape came over to their desks.

"And what exactly is going on here? Potter, are you already finished with your potion?"

"It's simmering, sir."

Snape stepped over to Ron's and Harry's cauldron and took up some potion with the spoon.

"You've let it thicken too much, that way it's not really useful. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Harry looked over towards Ron, expecting his friend to protest about that. But Ron just stared at his textbook, oblivious to everything that was going on around him. Harry turned his head when he heard somebody hissing towards him.

"What's up with the Weasel? Did he finally realize how poor he is and is now going depressed?"

"Shut up Malfoy, or I'll give you another jaw treatment."

Malfoy snorted but returned his attention towards his potion. Harry sighed and kept on stirring his brew while he concernedly watched his friend. 

"Ron, could you bring me one of those glasses for the sample? I think it's finished."

Ron nodded and went over towards the self on the wall to fetch the requested item. He put it on the desk and sat down again without a word.

Again, Harry sighed and then filled his sample into the glass, writing their names on the label afterwards.

They quickly cleaned up their working place and when Snape dismissed them left the dungeons as soon as possible.

Hermione went into the library to do some Arithmacy homework while Harry and Ron headed back into Gryffindor tower. There was still slightly more than an hour left until they had to leave for lunch, and Harry wanted to use that time to have a talk with his best friend.

Just as Harry had expected Ron withdrew into their dormitory as soon as they had reached Gryffindor Tower. He wanted to head after him, but was held off by Colin Creevey.

"Hiya Harry!"

Harry sighed.

"Hi Colin. Look, I don't have that much time until we have to go to lunch, so if we could just…"  
But Colin didn't even let Harry finish the sentence.

"Is it true that you'll be demonstrating the Dementor again after lunch?"

"How come you know that?"

Colin smiled somewhat sheepishly.  
"Well, I heard Professor Lupin this morning. Do you think I could stay just as well?"

Harry just shook his head in disbelief.  
"I've shown that Dementor to your class already. Why would you see it another time, it's not exactly the way one would spend his spare time."

"I thought that I maybe could take a picture of it…"

Harry raised his hands.

"Whoa Colin, no. No, no, no. This is not for fun and especially it's nothing to take souvenir pictures from. It's meant so that the remaining students can get an insight to what a Dementor feels like, nothing more. So, if you don't mind, there are still some things I wanted to get done before lunch."

And without another word, Harry turned around and left Colin in the Common Room. Harry still shook his head in disbelief while he climbed the stairs towards the dorms. He had known that Colin was somewhat strange, and that his admiration for Harry took a really scary extend sometimes, but this time he'd really gone too far. Taking pictures of a Dementor, really.

He finally stopped his mind from rambling when he reached his dormitory. If his suggestion was right, then Ron would have hidden on his bed, like he had done during the last couple of days, with the curtains drawn tightly around his bed.

Harry opened the door and immediately found his suggestion proved right. For one moment, he was tempted to leave Ron alone in whatever pity he found himself in, but then shook his head. Ron had to see reason, and if it was his place to show him than he would do exactly this. No matter if Ron would get annoyed at him or not.

When he drew back the curtains around Ron's bed, he found his friend awake, lying curled up on his side and, much to Harry's surprise, staring at a photo album. His photo album, in fact. It was full of pictures from the Weasley family and from Harry's visits at the Burrow. Molly had given it to him as a present for his last birthday, and so far he had not realized that it was missing from his trunk.

Ron spun around when he heard the curtains open and looked at Harry with the expression of a deer that was caught in the lights of a quickly approaching truck on the street.

"Harry…look, I didn't mean to…"

Harry raised a hand to silence his friend, then climbed onto Ron's bed and closed the curtains again.

"Ron, you and I need to talk."

Ron pulled himself into a sitting position and didn't dare to look into his friend's eyes. He had blushed so deeply that his face now nearly had the colour of his hair.

"Look Harry, I know that you are angry because I took the album out of your trunk. I'm sorry, but I realized that I didn't have any pictures from home and I thought that you wouldn't miss it, but here, you can have it back. I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that…"  
"Ron."

Harry's hand on his shoulder pulled Ron out of his mindless babbling. In fact, Harry didn't want his friend to stop talking at all, this was far more than Ron had said during the last days counted together.

"Ron, I'm not angry. True, you could have asked before you took the album, but it's okay, really. But I want you to listen to me now, okay?"

Ron nodded hesitantly.

"I don't say that I understand what you're feeling like, but you can't go on like that. I am sure that Charlie is not dead, and it's not good if you start mourning when there still is the chance that he's alive. And I do believe that he is alive, because otherwise his body would have been found. Especially if it were really Death Eaters who attacked their camp. Of what use would it be to kill them and then to hide their bodies? Ron, those Death Eaters always want to display their power, they don't kill people and then try to hide it. Do you understand me Ron?"

Ron still didn't look into Harry's eyes, but slowly he nodded. With a low voice that sounded as if he was close to tears he answered.

"But even if Charlie is still alive, if he's in You-Know-Who's hands, then I don't even want to think about it…"

Harry gave his friend's shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"As cruel as it sounds, there's nothing we can do about it now. The Ministry is searching for him, your father is searching for him, they'll do anything to find him. Believe me.

You have to be strong now Ron. We're all very concerned about you. Ginny is not doing fine, you have to be there for her. And though Hermione pretends to be all fine, she's worried and scared out of her wits just as well as you and I are. We have to stick together. And there is still the possibility that the castle could be attacked in three days. You'll be in even more danger if you don't have your mind together. Do you understand why it's so important that you don't lose yourself in self-pity now? It's way too dangerous for you and for the people around you, okay?"

Again, Ron nodded. Harry knew that this little talk still wasn't enough to set things right for his best friend again, but maybe it was the first step along the way.

"Now, how about some lunch?"

Harry smiled at Ron and both boys got up from the bed. Ron actually smiled for the first time since days.

"Yeah, I want to see how Malfoy reacts when seeing a Dementor. You know Harry, you're somewhat strange."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You got a talent to talk reason into others, but you yourself stubbornly refuse to see reason."

Seeing Harry's questioning gaze, Ron continued.

"Harry, you're my best friend and even if I run the risk of annoying you, I think I owe you to be honest. Nobody, and that includes me, understands why you behave towards Sirius the way you do. And I think you have absolutely no reason to behave like that."

Harry's smile immediately vanished from his face.

"Ron, stop it please."

Ron shook his head.

"No, I won't stop it. And do you know why? Because what you do is totally unreasonable."

Harry's face hardened even more.

"Let's just forget about this and go to lunch, shall we?"

Ron reluctantly nodded and followed Harry out of the dorm. On his way, he took the photo album and placed it on Harry's bed again.

Both friends reached the Great Hall together with the masses of other students. Well, masses might be the wrong expression, for only slightly about two hundred and fifty students had remained at the castle except from the usual seven hundred. 

There mood in the Great Hall was excited, after all Dumbledore didn't announce a fixed lunch time for the entire student's body every day.

Harry and Ron sat down next to Hermione, who was still discussing her Arithmacy homework with Dean. From the far side of the table, Colin gave Harry an impish grin as a greeting. Harry groaned and let himself fall into his chair.

Ron and Hermione gave him a questioning look, but Harry shrugged it off with the comment that they didn't even want to know.

At that moment, Snape and a couple of Slytherin fourth years arrived and the Potions master closed the doors to the Great Hall behind him.

Dumbledore rose and the Great Hall immediately fell silent.

"My dear students. I'm sure you've all wondered why I asked you to join a common lunch today. The reason is that I have to make a couple of announcements to make, and this way seemed to be the best.

As Professor Lupin has told me, most of the classes have received their Dementor demonstrations already. However, Professor Lupin and I have agreed that there is no use in wasting further time, so everybody who has not been present at one of the demonstrations so far will please remain in the Great Hall after the meal is over. This means all sixth years, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seventh years as well as Mr. Adams of Ravenclaw and Mr. Strangler of Slytherin who missed the demonstrations in their classes due to illness.

You will receive your further instructions from Professor Lupin, the rest of the students will leave for their houses or afternoon classes after lunch.

For now, this is it. I have a couple of other announcements to make after the meal, but until then enjoy the food."

Dumbledore sat down again and the four tables immediately filled with food. Harry now realized how hungry he was and so he filled his plate with a huge portion of chicken and ham pie. Even Ron put more food than usual onto his plate, a fact which earned him and Harry a questioning but nevertheless happy look from Hermione. It seemed that at least some of the tension between them had been lifted, and about time, she thought.

When everybody had finished and the plates had cleared, Dumbledore once more rose from his chair.

"Now, before everybody who won't remain for the demonstration leaves, I'll have something else to say.

As you all have been informed by the Heads of your Houses a couple of days ago, we are all very concerned about the threat that the Dark Lord poses against us. The Ministry and I believe that he and his minions are ready to strike against us, and unfortunately we believe that Hogwarts will be one of his targets. Your parents have been informed about this situation and they had and still have the possibility to take you home if they wish. So, if your parents think that it might be safer for you to leave the castle, just let the head of your House know and we'll arrange things.

We believe that an attack is possible within the next days. If however, this doesn't happen, then school will have to continue as normal, even though the threat won't be banned. Therefore, the teachers and I have established emergency plans for the case of an attack. 

What I tell you now is important, so please listen carefully.

In case that Hogwarts is under attack, all of you will be apparated out as soon as the wards around the castle break down. We'll establish certain meeting points all over the castle. Those are: the common rooms, the Great Hall, the North Tower, the owlery, the greenhouses and the DADA classroom. In case of an attack, an alarm will sound and every student will head for the closest meeting point, no matter whether it is your own common room or another. You'll receive the exact location of each of those meeting points from the heads of your houses this evening.

One teacher will surveying each meeting point and take the assembled students out by group apparition. Those of you who are familiar with this concept might be aware that there are some risks. 

When apparating a larger group of people, there is the possibility that one or two don't end up in the planned location. So, if any of you finds himself alone somewhere after the apparition, don't lose your head. The teachers will track your destination down and come fetch you as soon as possible. Remain calm and don't move too far from the point where you arrived, then there is no danger in it for you. However, I prefer to temporarily lose a student because of group apparition than to lose a student in a fight.

In case we get attacked, everybody is to head for a meeting place immediately. Nobody is allowed to wander around the castle or involve themselves in any fighting.

Those rules remain until further notice. Thank you for your patience, now off for your classes."

Dumbledore clapped his hands and the majority of the students left the Great Hall. To his great relief, Harry saw Colin get up and leave just as well, so at least he didn't have to worry about him shooting pictures anymore.

The Gryffindors left their table and stepped in front of the teacher's table, where the other remaining students had already assembled. Remus was nowhere to be seen, only Snape stood in the middle of the Hall and moved the house tables to the far off wall with his wand. When he had cleared the space, he gestured the students to assemble in the middle of the hall.

"Where is Professor Lupin? I thought he would be here for the demonstration."

Lavender and Parvati looked around in search of their favourite teacher which made Harry groan and roll his eyes. As amusing as their behaviour had been, it slowly got on his nerves.

As if on cue, Remus came through the door of the ante chamber and floated a large suitcase in front of him. From the inside of the suitcase the Boggart made rumbling sounds and pounced upon the lid.

Parvati and Lavender immediately drew their wands, ready to aid Remus in case the Boggart should attack him. Ron just shook his head.

"Really, he's DADA teacher. I think he can handle a Boggart on his own."

Both girls blushed a deep crimson but never let the suitcase out of their eyes. Ron turned towards Harry.

"Really, those two…"

He was interrupted by a muffled cry from Hermione. When Harry and Ron looked at her, she had her mouth wide open, her hand pressed against it, and her eyes wandered from Lavender and Parvati to Remus and back again. She shook her head feverishly.

"You don't want to tell me that Remus…that he's…that Lavender and Parvati…"  
Ron and Harry broke into identical grins.

"Took you long enough to figure out Herm. Really, for a witch who's considered to be so intelligent, you can be really thick sometimes."

Hermione stared at Ron.

"You knew…?"  
Ron nodded.

"Of course. Was hard not to notice, wasn't it Harry?"

Harry grinned, but before Hermione could say something in return, Remus had placed the suitcase next to him and gestured Harry to step forward. When Harry stood next to him, Remus looked at the other students.

"Now, as you all know the Dementors have left Azkaban some time ago. Unfortunately, we have reasons to assume that they have joined Voldemort…"

A sharp intake of breath from most of the students interrupted Remus here,

"…and therefore it is possible that they are sent against Hogwarts. Now, all of you have had Patronus lessons and some of you were even able to produce a Patronus. That alone is an achievement, but it might not be enough.

None of you have faced a Dementor before, and it's even more difficult to produce a Patronus in their presence. As you know, you have to focus on your happiest memories to perform that charm. Dementors however feed from your happiness. They suck it in and leave an aura of coldness around themselves. It is very difficult to hold tight onto your happy memories in the presence of a Dementor. 

What I have here in that suitcase is a Boggart. You all know what a Boggart is, I assume?"  
He looked around, and everybody nodded.

"Now, when the Boggart faces Harry, it will take the form of a Dementor. This can give you a small insight into what facing a Dementor means. Mind you, it can never show you the real extend, but we all hope that none of you will be facing a Dementor anytime soon. Not if we can prevent it. This is just precaution, but nevertheless I ask you to pay attention. You'll all have to step back a little, so that the Boggart won't be distracted by your presence. If it should turn to you, however, I hope you remember what to do."  
The students stepped back obediently, leaving a couple of metres space between Harry and themselves. All had their wands drawn out, even Professor Snape.

Remus nodded at them, then he drew back the lid of the suitcase and stepped back to the wall.

As soon as the lid was opened, the figure of a Dementor slowly rose from the suitcase. Its breath came in sharp, rattling sounds and when it had risen to full height, it towered Harry for at least six inches. Immediately, the lights in the Great Hall began to flutter and the temperature seemed to sink sharply. One of the Ravenclaw sixth years let out a low cry and tried to hide behind her classmates.

Harry didn't hear her, though. He was too focussed on the Dementor and on the voices in his own head. Ignoring his mother's pleas for his life, he summoned every happy thought he could think of and shouted the incarnation.

"Expecto Patronum!"  
The silvery stag shot out of Harry's wand and attacked the Dementor, driving it back into the wall. When it had cornered the creature, Remus quickly distracted the Boggart and drew it back into the suitcase, slamming the lid close behind it.

The lights in the room stopped fluttering and the temperature rose back to its normal level. Remus nodded his thanks to Harry and then turned back towards the rest of the students.

"This encounter might have been a bit disturbing for some of you. You might remember the time when the Dementors were stationed around the castle some years ago. As I said, we don't expect that you will be confronted with Dementors, even if the castle will get attacked. Nevertheless it is important that you get to know how difficult it is to fight them. You have realized that the mere presence of a Dementor makes your worst memories surface, and this is what makes it difficult to remember your happy memories. 

Now, everybody of you will take some chocolate from the table on the wall, otherwise Madam Pomfrey will be after my hide. That's it, you can leave afterwards. If you have another question, just go ahead and ask."

He nodded at the students who immediately started grabbing the chocolate while Snape restored the table order in the Great Hall. Remus looked at Harry.

"You're alright, Harry?"  
Harry nodded.

"Yeah, though I think I'll never get used to Dementors. It's always as scary as it was the first time."

Remus smiled.

"Nobody ever gets used to Dementors. Now, get some chocolate and then off to your afternoon lessons."

With another smile, he picked up the suitcase and floated it out of the hall. Snape had already left and the other students were still occupied with finishing the chocolate. Ron held a large Milk Bar in his hand which he handed to Harry.

"Here mate, saved you one. Those Hufflepuff girls have already eaten the lot of chocolate."

Harry gratefully took the chocolate bar and was just about to eat it when a well-known drawling voice interrupted him.

"Well Potter, always in for the show, aren't we? I guess you enjoyed standing in the spotlight – again. Ever thought about a career at the Varieté, that little show might come in handy there?"

Harry turned around and saw Malfoy standing in front of him, a sly smirk on his face. Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen and Harry guessed that they were still occupied with the free chocolate.

"Yeah Malfoy, that's an idea. You could dress up as a Dementor, how about that? After all, you have already practiced that part two years ago. And I'll never forget that startled look when you lay there on the floor, knocked out by my Patronus."

With this, he turned around and went out of the Great Hall. There were really more important things than to listen to Malfoy's insults. Ron and Hermione quickly caught up with him, Hermione still flabbergasted that she seemed to be the only one who had not realized that Lavender and Parvati were head over heels in love with Remus, and together they went outside towards the Greenhouses.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

In the evening, Harry went to Professor Dumbledore's office, just like both had agreed. Harry was very grateful that Dumbledore didn't try and talk about Sirius again, he really had enough of those conversations during the last week. 

The headmaster merely gave him a sheet of parchment with the spell written on it, and then went into lengthy explanations as to why Harry needed to know what exactly the spell did.

Basically, it used the magic of the wizard who cast the spell to separate the connection that existed between the mere biology of a body and the soul that inhabited that body. Dumbledore compared it to the Dementor's kiss, only that the spell didn't absorb the spirit but rather set it free.

"A spirit that has just been loosened from its former body needs some moments to completely separate from it." Dumbledore said. Those were the precious seconds during which the second spell had to be cast, the spell to finally kill Voldemort.

Harry asked Dumbledore to teach him that spell as well, just in case that something unforeseen would happen, but Dumbledore strictly refused. He told Harry that after casting the first spell, Harry would not be able to summon enough magic for the second one as well and simply had left it with that. Harry knew that this was not the true reason, but he had gotten used to the fact that nobody ever told him anything unless it was absolutely necessary.

He and Dumbledore spent an hour in the headmaster's office and had practiced the correct pronunciation of the spell. It was a Latin sentence and Harry quickly got the hang of it. After all, Hermione always bored Ron and him to death with her lengthy explanations of the Latin backgrounds of Charms and Transfigurations spells. Some of it seemed to have rubbed off, much to Harry's relief at that moment.

Satisfied with Harry's progress, Dumbledore allowed him to leave the office very quickly, but not without reminding him once more that in case they were being attacked, Harry had to stay close to at least one of the fully educated wizards and to wait for Dumbledore, no matter what would happen.

That evening, they had only three days left until the next full moon.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Much to Remus' distress, the remaining three days till the next full moon passed in a blur. After Harry had completed the Dementor demonstrations, he had continued his lessons as usual. His thoughts had been somewhere completely different most of the time, so he had allowed the students to work on their own in groups on the assignments he had given them.

Remus' thoughts always went out to what would happen if the castle really got attacked so soon. Sure, the teachers would try everything to take the students out, but what if despite all the warnings some of the students went astray? What if some of them were left in the castle, or on the castle grounds? No way were they really prepared to fight with fully educated wizards.

He tried to suppress those thoughts, but his mind returned to them nevertheless.

Sirius wasn't in the castle very often. After the unfortunate encounter with Harry in Remus' office, he didn't spend the days in the castle anymore. He returned every night and stayed until breakfast, but during the day he was away on various errands for Dumbledore. Together with Mad Eye Moody he and a couple of other Aurors did their best to find Voldemort's lair before he had the possibility to strike anywhere, but from what Sirius told Remus they were not very successful. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, the Dementors and the werewolves seemed to have vanished without a trace. And that alone was a very disturbing fact.

Thursday had arrived earlier than Remus had wished for it to come. A group of another fifty students had left the castle on Monday, but two hundred students had remained. And those students needed protection that night.

Remus shuddered as he made his way into the Great Hall for lunch.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The door closed with a loud sound and immediately the group of men who stood near the fireplace spun around when they saw who had just arrived, they sunk to their knees. 

Voldemort smiled and stepped in front of one of the kneeling Death Eaters. The man looked up.

"Master?"

"Fetch me Valeria Salenin."

The Death Eater got to his feet again, bowed in front of Voldemort and then left the room. Voldemort turned towards the remaining figures.

"You may leave now."

Immediately, they too got to their feet again, bowed and then left the room. The Dark Lord watched their retreat, then stood next to the fireplace and watched the door, waiting for Valeria to arrive.

"You called me, Master?"

It took much to surprise Lord Voldemort, but at that moment it took him all self-restraint not to show his surprise when he heard Valeria's voice coming from behind. He turned around and faced the tall woman, who bowed immediately.

"Always good for a surprise Valeria. But I should have guessed that you have means to appear other than to walk through doors."

Valeria straightened her back and looked into her master's eyes. A glint of amusement showed in the deep black pools of her own eyes. 

"Master, I'm sure you didn't come here to talk to me about my knowledge about the unobvious ways to get through this manor."

Voldemort smiled and gestured her to sit down. Valeria took a seat in an armchair in front of the fireplace and waited for Voldemort to begin.

"I trust everything is going the way we planned?"

Valeria nodded.

"Yes master. You'd be the first to hear if things were otherwise."

"Any sign of an unexpected reaction to the potion?"

Valeria shook her head, her brown hair falling over her eyes in the process. She wiped it away quickly.

"No, as expected. The potion works just the way it was planned, without any unwanted side-effects."

Again, the Dark Lord smiled and rested his hands on his folded hands for a moment. Then he looked up again.

"I have finally settled on a time for our action, Valeria. Now all we have to do is coordinate the details. Potter is already taken care of, he won't stand in our way when it comes to a confrontation. I've taken care of that."

The amusement that had shown in Valeria's eyes at the beginning of their conversation had been replaced by interest while Voldemort had been speaking. Now the black eyes seemed to be sparkling with anticipation and excitement. Inwardly, Voldemort smiled. This woman was dangerous, even more so when given the power to act. But that made her his most important ally now.

"You will not tell anybody else until shortly before we take action. But you need to prepare the forces, so take care that the guards do what they are supposed to. The night we strike…"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Never before in his life had Remus been so reluctant to enter the Shrieking Shack on a Full Moon night. He had a very bad feeling about what lay before them, but he knew that he had no other choice. If he could, just for once, not transform into his werewolf self, just for this one night. He wanted to be of help if the castle got attacked, he wanted to do anything in his power to fight Voldemort and his minions, but it just wasn't possible for him.

All because he was a werewolf. 

All he could do was sit and wait. 

He hated it.

With a passion.

Snape had given him a strong Wolfsbane Potion that afternoon. Remus knew that Madam Pomfrey might have other things to do than to care about his self-inflicted wounds in the morning, and he wanted to be able to help in case that the attack was still going on. This night he couldn't risk hurting himself badly.

The potion really seemed to take every strength out of the wolf in him, he wasn't able to do very much else than sleep after he had transformed. The small human part inside of his mind regretted that he couldn't take the potion with this strength every month, but at long sight it would harm him more than it would do good.

In the hours before sunrise, the wolf got restless. Something was not right here, he knew it. He sensed it. Something was wrong, something was not the way they had expected it to be. Despite his fatigue, he started pacing up and down the small room, waiting for the sun to rise, waiting for his possibility to leave the prison he was trapped in.

When it finally happened, Remus lost no time in putting on his clothes and racing down the stairs of the Shack.

The restlessness the wolf had felt had not gone away after he had transformed back. On the contrary, it had increased and now formed a leaden lump in his stomach. He didn't really dare to imagine what would await him the moment he stepped out of the passage, he tried frantically to put all the horrid images of battle fields and dead bodies aside while he raced down the passage towards the Willow.

Sending a short prayer to whatever deity listening, Remus opened the passage, pressed the knot on the trunk of the willow with a long stick and stepped outside. 

Remus didn't really want to, but he forced himself to look around, forced himself to see what had happened that night. 

He let his eyes wander across the castle and its grounds and couldn't help but draw a sharp intake of breath at what he saw.


	9. Last Conversations

_Erm – guys? Some of you might have noticed that I had been talking about two cliffhangers that still lay ahead of you. Well, how am I supposed to say…the end of the last chapter wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger at all. There are still two more ahead, and I think they're even more – how do you always put that? – evil. Sorry for that._

_A.Dee__: Yepp, plot development ahead. Now here you'll see what happened. And no, Harry and Sirius won't have the time to talk, at least not soon._

_kateydidn't__: Author's privilege to be evil sometimes. Do you think I'm overusing that privilege? *g*_

_Ms. Issues__: Good guess there! And as for how I could end a chapter like that: Well, I sometimes enjoy to torture my dear readers (which doesn't mean that I don't love every single one of you, I really do!). But concerning cliffhangers, let me tell you one thing: You ain't seen nothing yet!_

_darkphoenix__: Hope you're still with us. I really didn't mean to abuse your curiosity like that. Here you go with your answers…_

_evil__ spapple pie__: It really wasn't meant to be such a hell of a cliffhanger, really! I'M SORRY!_

_Hah! You have some compassion left for Draco, I knew it! Or maybe Snape has just rubbed off a little while he was with you? He's arrived safely here last night, and from what I can tell he really needs a holiday now. He's spent far too much time with Remus and especially Sirius. Really, wherever he goes he mutters something like 'bloody Black' or 'going to get him back for that one' under his breath. It gets really scary sometimes._

_No, I don't have a swimming pool, but then again I think I don't miss too much. You know, I haven't got the privilege to live in __Australia__. I guess you've never been to Germany or Middle Europe before, so let me tell you one thing: If the months between June and September aren't filled with rain everyday but rather only cloudy with an average of 18 – 25 ° Celsius, it's what we call a **very ****warm summer. No, just kidding, but summers here aren't that long and warm, so a swimming pool would be a complete waste of time and money.**_

_I still don't get over that Vanilla Coke thing. I thought that Diet Coke was already an act of blasphemy, but this…where will this world end? *melodramatic music*_

_I wanted to confuse you with the question of whom Harry loves most, seems like I finally reached my aim with that…_

_By the way, how did Severus, Remus and Sirius like the movie? Severus strictly refuses to talk about anything Sirius-related, which means his complete time in __Australia__. I think the poor guy got a severe trauma._

_No, English isn't my first language, I only learned it in school for nine years and then by reading books or watching movies. I wasn't fishing for compliments with the paragraph about my mistakes, it's just that I'm such a perfectionist that those mistakes annoy me without end. Still glad my English doesn't make you cringe or something._

_So now, here you go with the next chapter, hope it puts some light on certain things. It starts a little before my last chapter left, but I think that explains itself while reading._

_sarahpeach__: Thank you! I love being evil! Mwhahahah! But you're a very good guesser, I have to admit. But it really wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger at all, I swear!_

_SilverMoon__: Mwahahahaha! *stops and looks around* Mwhahahahahaha! I love that!_

_Maryanne__: From now on it'll be one post a week, I don't want to ruin your term paper, do I? No, but really, I have to write more now and therefore can't post more often. University keeps me busy as well. *curses colourful under her breath*. But here you go, Voldie's not dead, but your other suggestion was quite right!_

_Avidia__: Being grounded from the computer would lead to my untimely death, I think. But that's the good thing about having an own flat and an own computer and no parents who can do that to you…*g* Thanks a lot for your nice words about my different plotlines, I just hope that I'll be able to put all the strings together in the end. But I'm working on it. And yes, I have spent quite some time on that one, four weeks in a row just to develop the plotline. That's the main difference to the first version of that story. I think it paid off in the end. And who needs university anyways? _

_And no, there won't be an interlude chapter where they all sit in circles and discuss their problems, maybe even sing some songs. Though – maybe if I'm in the mood I'll write a piece like that when the story's finished and post it as the 'lost chapter' or so as a parody. Hmmm, kinda like the idea *pulls out notebook and starts scribbling down feverishly*_

_Leap of fate__: More Sirius coming up, in this chapter and even more in the next ones. I told you he and his problems with Harry (or rather Harry's problems with him) will be important later on. Slowly things get moving…_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Hermione had to find out someday, and I thought the time was just right. _

_Eva__: Oh yes, in the end somebody will get through to Harry, but it won't be somebody you'll suspect. And it won't be nice, either. But knowing my stories, you could already have guessed as much, I think. *g*_

_Seraphim__: I'm always flattered when somebody puts me on any kind of 'favourites' list. Thank you so much! Here you go with the next chapter!_

_Narcoleptic__: I am indeed honoured by your long review. Sorry that I still don't resolve the cliffie, but nevertheless maybe that chapter makes you feel better. I hope your grades didn't suffer under the end of the last chapter. Anyway, I don't think that a werewolf in his canine form is 'cute', even when it is sleeping. Maybe in the sense of 'nice to watch', but not in the sense of 'oh, come on let me pet your head'. No good idea. Even if it is Remus. And hey – __Scotland__ is not that small, so Sirius still could have travelled from somewhere in __Scotland__ (Hogwarts) to somewhere else. *cough, cough*. Or something like that *g*_

_Anyway, here you go with the next chapter, and just let me know if I shall send an ambulance to your house!_

_Vegeta__ Jr.__: Glad you're only partly hostile. But I so much love being the evil one! As I said, no riddles solved in this chapter, but nevertheless it's worth a read, I think!_

_Anyway, I was so flattered about all your reviews and I am so sorry for that unintended cliffhanger that I'll give you another chapter before Sunday. It's a little shorter than the last one, and it won't solve the cliffhanger as well, it rather covers the time before Remus enters the Shrieking Shack. By public demand: Somebody tries to talk some sense into Harry. Read and find out who. _

_The story is nearly finished (in writing, not posting), and I guess that about four or five chapters are still to come. All in all the story will have around 150 pages in Word, which means that nearly a third of it is still to come. The amount of chapters depends on my cliffhangers *g*._

_I might not be able to post on Sunday, university is keeping me quite busy at the moment. So don't flame, please!_

_The quote from Prisoner of Azkaban was quoted from memory. I don't know if that were Sirius' precise words, but what he said had the same meaning. I was just too lazy to look it up._

_As for now: Read and Review please (but I don't need to tell you that, you already do! Thanks so much!)_

_Enjoy!_

**Last Conversations**

Not only Remus had the feeling that the full moon approached far too soon. The two previous days seemed to have literally flown by whereas the actual Thursday seemed to stretch endlessly. Every single person in the castle, be it student or teacher, seemed to search distraction in any possible way. 

Hagrid spent all day in his hut, seeing to his crossbow and the arrows belonging to it and checked every couple of minutes that his pink umbrella, in which the remainders of his wand were hidden, was always in reach.

The majority of the students spent their afternoon in the common rooms, and even if they left the safety of their houses they always tried to keep close to the nearest meeting point. Without the students buzzing around in the corridors, the huge castle appeared to be awfully quiet.

From time to time one of the teachers would be seen in the corridors, checking on empty classrooms and locking them so that no student could get lost somewhere in case of an attack.

The air was nervous and filled with tension, and everybody seemed to flinch at the slightest sound.

Early in the afternoon, Snape made his way into Dumbledore's office. Before he could even knock, Dumbledore's voice could be heard from behind the door.

"Severus, please come in."

Snape opened the door and went over to the old headmaster who sat behind his desk and smiled at his former student.

"Albus."

"Please Severus, take a seat."

Snape rarely called Dumbledore by his first name, whenever there was somebody else present he simply referred to him as 'headmaster'. Nevertheless, during private conversations of which both had had many during the last years, he used Dumbledore's first name while addressing him. To most other people this might have seemed strange, but Dumbledore, who knew Snape probably better than anybody else in the castle, it was a sign of the trust and loyalty his Potions master lay in him. A trait he didn't show very often in front of others, which had been more than necessary during the time that Snape had still worked as a spy for him.

Snape took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk and accepted the cup of tea that was offered to him.

"Now Severus, how are things down in the castle?"

Snape set the cup back down and looked at Dumbledore. He was fairly sure that the headmaster was very much aware of what was going on in the school, and sometimes he couldn't help but wonder about the old wizard.

"We're as prepared as we could be. Flitwick and Lupin have double-checked the outer wards around the castle, and Minerva has told me that you both have checked the inner wards. As far as I know every single teacher has checked the wards they themselves have set up, also."

Dumbledore nodded. Normally the castle was surrounded by a certain amount of wards and charms as well as an anti-apparition field. They could only be taken down from the headmaster's office and only by someone who knew them well. As an added security measure, Dumbledore had closed his fireplace for floo and changed the password for the Gargoyle. 

Nevertheless those wards didn't hinder anybody to enter the castle ground by foot or broomstick, so they had set up inner wards around the castle as such. Every single teacher had set up his own ward around the castle, by magic that could only be taken down by the one who conjured it.

"So the castle as such is safe for the time being?"

Snape slowly nodded.

"The wards should give us enough time to apparate all the students out without anybody entering the castle in the meantime. 

Minerva and I have decided that it would be better to check all unused rooms and lock them, so that no students can go astray when an attack starts. Now only the common rooms, the infirmary, the owlery, the greenhouses, the Great Hall, the North Tower, the DADA classroom and the library should be accessible, but who can ever tell that? This castle has far more secret rooms and passages than even Lupin and Black have ever discovered."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Oh, I think I have something that can be of help here."

While Snape wondered what Dumbledore was talking about, the headmaster started rummaging in a drawer of his desk and pulled out a rather old looking piece of parchment. The parchment seemed oddly familiar to Snape.

"Do you recognize it, Severus?"

Snape looked at the parchment for a moment and then it dawned him.

"If I'm not very much mistaken it's Potter's. I caught him with it out of bed one night, what was it, three years ago? But I couldn't figure out what it was, it merely started insulting me. Lupin said that it was only a joke from Zonko's."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"I can imagine that Severus. You see, Remus had his reasons not to tell you the truth, for I fear that he helped create this little tool. Actually, it's a map that shows the precise location of every person in the castle. When we get attacked, it can help us to make sure that no student is left in here. I asked Mr. Potter to hand it over, and so he did. Though quite reluctantly, I have to admit."

Snape just shook his head as realization dawned of how Harry had managed all his out of bed adventures without ever getting caught. He decided to have another word with him about the missing ingredients from his office a couple of years ago.

Dumbledore meanwhile pulled out his wand, pointed it at the parchment and stated:  
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good"

Words which Snape could not decipher from his point of view started to show, and when they faded a map of Hogwarts began to show. Now Snape fully understood.

"That's the map that lay on Lupin's desk, the night that Black escaped from Hogwarts."

Dumbledore just smiled knowingly at his Potions master, then he made the map go blank again and put it back in his desk. Before Snape had more time to ponder over the latest pieces of information he had received, Dumbledore interrupted him.

"I suppose you've given Remus the Wolfsbane again?"

"Yes. We agreed on making it as strong as possible this time, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself tonight. It's not healthy that strong, but taking it one time won't do him any harm."

Dumbledore nodded and looked thoughtfully out of the window. Snape watched him for some long moments, asking himself where the headmaster's mind had wandered to now. 

"Albus?"

Dumbledore turned around.

"Yes, Severus?"

Snape sighed.

"What about Voldemort? You told me something about a spell, but never went in detail."  
"Well Severus, that's because there isn't that much detail about it. Hopefully Harry will be able to reduce him to a weak spirit with an ancient separation spell, and then I'll cast another spell to finish him off for good."

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Who else does know that spell?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Just me."

"Isn't that a bit risky? What if something happens to you before you will be able to cast that spell?"

A smile played around the corners of Dumbledore's mouth.

"I'll do anything to prevent that, Severus. But I don't think it would be wise for anybody else to know the spell."

"Why?"

Dumbledore laughed.

"You're far too inquisitive for your own good, I've always said that, Severus."

Fully well realizing Dumbledore's change of topic, Snape replied.  
"Seems to have rubbed off from somebody."

Snape finished his tea and Dumbledore watched the man in front of him with a suddenly very solemn expression.

"Poppy told me that she'll establish a temporary infirmary in the Great Hall in case of a battle. Even Aurors are not invulnerable, in case the Ministry can afford to send us reinforcements. She told me that she could need the help of somebody with a knowledge of healing potions."

"No Albus, don't even try that."

Dumbledore looked at Snape innocently.

"Try what, Severus?"

Snape laughed harshly.

"Try to keep me inside of the castle in case it comes to battle. When the Death Eaters strike against Hogwarts, I'll not just stay inside and collect up the pieces they left."

"Severus, you know what awaits you in case that you're recognized by a Death Eater. Or worse, in case that they get hold of you alive."

Snape looked at Dumbledore with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"The same that awaits everybody else. In case I go out and fight, I might get killed. In case that I get captured, Voldemort will kill me for my betrayal. Either way I'd be dead. Nevertheless I have to go out and fight. I have to take sides in that battle. It's what I have to do. I owe it to you."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"You're not in my debt, Severus."

Another raised eyebrow was all Dumbledore received as a reply first. 

"Not in your debt for saving my life and giving me the chance to make at least a little of the wrong I did right again? I hardly think so, Albus."

Dumbledore sighed.

"I didn't save your life Severus. You did that alone. You were the one who realized your wrongdoings. You made the decision to leave the Death Eaters, at a time when Voldemort was still at the height of his power. You took all the risks, I merely gave you an opportunity for redemption because I believed in you. And you have never abused the faith I laid in you, you took all the risks I asked you to take without hesitation. If so, then I am the one in your debt."

Snape raised a hand and gestured Dumbledore to stop. For some long moments, both men just looked into each other's eyes in silent agreement. Finally, Snape rose.

"If that's all, then I'm going to check on the dungeons once more."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes Severus, that's all. Thank you."

Snape again locked his gaze with the headmaster's.

"Thank you, Albus."

He nodded at the older man and left the room.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"You!"

Valeria Salenin's voice bellowed through the huge dungeon system below an old mansion somewhere on Scotland's North-Eastern coast. The woman, who had just been locking one of the large steel doors that went off from the corridor Valeria stood in, turned around and immediately bowed.

"Yes?"

"Fetch me the other guards. Now."

The woman immediately turned around and hastened through the corridor, around a couple of corners and through some passages that were hardly detectable if one didn't know they were there. She came into a rather small room with a couple of straw mattresses in the corner. Ten other men and woman were spread around the room, some of them sitting on the mattresses, others leaning against the wall and staring into space. None of them talked. When the woman came running into the room, ten pairs of eyes looked up at her curiously.

"The Mistress wants to see us. In the main corridor."

With this, she turned around again and the other men and women followed her obediently, not asking for any reasons or explanations. Instead, they hastened to reach their mistress as fast as possible, experience had taught them that a delay could end painful.

When they arrived in the corridor, Valeria stood there, tapping her foot impatiently. The eleven men and women lined up next to the wall and stood straight.

"Finally. I have received new orders for you, we have to get ready. I will tell you when it's time to leave, but until then I want you to watch the project even more carefully. Every incident out of order is to be reported to me immediately, I will hold all of you responsible if anything goes wrong. 

You'll receive your orders when we move, not earlier. But before that…"

She started pacing along the line of guards, deciding which one to chose. Her orders from the Dark Lord had been explicit, but still vague enough to leave the final decision up to her. Valeria knew that it was a test, that he would hold her personally responsible if her choice proved wrong. Carefully, she eyed the men and women which she passed. She needed a man for the job, a woman was too much of a risk. Though all the guards were in a good physical shape, a women might not have the physical strength in case something went wrong. This decision ruled out the five women in the line. Valeria knew that she needed to chose somebody who would in no case disobey, somebody who had learned the lesson about what disobedience implied for him already. Her eyes fell onto the man on the end of the line. He wasn't too tall, but nevertheless muscular and seemed to be in a good physical condition. But what attracted her attention was the large bruise on his face and the deep scratches on his arms. Inwardly, Valeria smiled.

She knew only too well where that bruise came from, she had given it to the man herself after he had not shown the required haste taking out her orders. And the scratches on his arms spoke plainly about the intensity with which he had taken out her orders afterwards.

This was the right one.

"You may leave now."

With a gesture of her hand, she dismissed the remaining guards while she focussed the man with her stare. All she received was a blank look from dull eyes.

"You. I have a special task for you, directly from our master."

He nodded, his face not showing a single emotion.

"You know Wormtail, one of our masters servants?"

Again, a dull nod.

"Now, it is your task to stay close to Wormtail during our attack. Wherever he goes, you will go, too. He'll think of you as his partner, but master wants you to keep an eye on him. No matter what happens, Wormtail is not allowed to leave, so if he makes any attempt to flee, you're supposed to stun him and bring him to our master. Alive. Did you get that?"

"Watch Wormtail, not let him leave, stun him in that case and bring him alive." The man replied in a voice that was equally dull as his gaze.

"Good. But you will also watch his back. Don't let anybody capture him, he knows too much."

Again a nod.

"Don't let Wormtail get captured, but keep an eye on him, not let him leave, stun him and bring him alive in case he tries anything."

Valeria nodded.

"Good. Don't forget that, or you'll live to regret it. You may leave now."

The man bowed and left the corridor the way he had come in. Now that he was gone and she was alone in the deserted corridor, Valeria allowed herself to smile.

They would be successful, she knew it. And then she'd be given enough power to do just as she pleased.

With a swish of her cloak, she turned around and left the dungeons.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

It was Thursday afternoon, somewhere around four o'clock, when Harry decided that he needed to get out of the Gryffindor Common Room. The tension in there was so thick, one could nearly grasp it. When Harry had woken up that morning, he had remained in bed for a long time, thinking all possibilities for the following night over and over again.

It was highly probable that Hogwarts would be attacked as soon as the moon rose that evening, and then everybody would leave. Everybody except the teachers, Sirius and him. And – from what they had told him – Hermione and Ron. Both had stated firmly that no power on earth could make them leave Harry behind, not knowing whether they would see him again and Harry firmly believed that they would try so. Of course he had tried to talk them out of this hilarious idea, but to no avail. Inwardly, Harry had been glad that his friends refused to leave his side, but a little nagging voice inside of his head told him constantly that he didn't want them to put themselves into danger just because of him.

But then Dumbledore had asked him to hand over the Marauder's Map, and after he had overcome his reluctance to give away this treasured possession Harry was quite glad about it. Even if Ron and Hermione stole his invisibility cloak they would still show on the map and Dumbledore would surely send them into safety along with the others.

What worried Harry far more was the possibility of another encounter with Voldemort. Truly, when he had met the Dark Lord before he had always be alone and now he would have Dumbledore at his side. The only wizard that had ever been feared by Voldemort. But still Harry could not imagine how they would enforce this encounter.

The idea simply to go to the nearest Death Eater and ask '_Excuse me, but have you seen the Dark Lord somewhere around? I need to see him urgently, it's about his destruction' had crossed Harry's mind and had caused him to laugh for several minutes. Luckily his roommates hadn't been awake by then, otherwise they would have thought he had finally lost it._

But though Harry seemed to have preserved at least some of his sense of humour about the whole situation, the idea of another encounter with Voldemort had not left his mind throughout the entire day. He had thought it over and over again, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. 

He was absolutely terrified that something could go wrong. Maybe he and Dumbledore wouldn't even be able to seek Voldemort out, maybe Harry would cast the spell wrongly, maybe something would happen to Dumbledore before they could even try to make the spells work. The latter seemed to be the absolute worst scenario, because as far as Harry was aware, nobody except the headmaster knew about the spell to kill Voldemort. If he died before Voldemort, all their hopes to win the war were lost. 

Astonishingly, Harry wasn't really frightened that something might happen to him. After all, if he died tonight it would all be over for him. Of course he didn't like the idea to die at such a young age, but hadn't his parents died only four or five years older than him? Hermione and Ron would be sad about his death, no doubt about it, but they had each other and with him gone at least they wouldn't be in danger anymore just because they were friends of The Boy Who Lived.

Ah yes, The Boy Who Lived. Well, if he was dead than at least nobody would stare at him anymore because of that blasted scar and because he had somehow banished the Dark Lord without actually doing something. It all had been his mother's sacrifice, but he had been worshipped for it. Nobody had ever thought that Harry might not want all the attention, nobody had ever asked him what he thought. If he died tonight than the wizarding world could worship themselves to happiness about him for all that he cared. He would not have to live with it anymore. 

And – alarming as it sounded even to Harry – if he died he would be with his parents again, and that was a tempting thought. Though he had only spent a couple of days with them around, this had been the happiest time of his life. 

After his encounter with Sirius and Remus in Remus' office Harry had thought very long about everything that had happened since he had woken up ten days ago. Harry had been close to admitting that maybe he had been a bit harsh with his godfather, that maybe he should have at least told him why he no longer wanted to have him around, but then the memories of the time with his parents had forced themselves into the front of his mind once more. That was what he could have had, that was what Sirius had taken away from him. Of course not consciously, Harry had to admit, and of course that didn't change the fact that the actual betrayal had been committed by Wormtail and that Voldemort had killed his parents, but the chain of events had started with Sirius. With Sirius and his ill choice. His cowardly choice. What had his father said?

_'Harm doesn't need to be willingly done, it also hurts if it is caused by a well-meant, but ill choice.'_

Maybe that hurt even more. The first ill choice had been to install Peter as the secret keeper. True, nobody had suspected him to be the traitor, but nevertheless, if Sirius had kept his word and if he had been the secret keeper, then his parents would have been safe. Harry remembered when he had first met Sirius and Peter in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius had reproached Wormtail for being too cowardly.

_'Then you should have died, like we would have done for you!'_

But wasn't that exactly what Sirius had dodged? Coming into the situation where he possibly had to give away his own life in order to save the ones he cared for? Wasn't Sirius even more of a hypocrite than Wormtail himself? At least Wormtail had admitted his cowardice.

But that had not been the biggest fault Sirius had made. After he ad seen where Wormtail's betrayal had led to, after his parents had been killed, Sirius' only aim had been to hunt the traitor down on his own. If Sirius had stayed, if he had told Dumbledore that he had not been the secret keeper, then Harry would have been allowed to stay with him. Maybe not immediately, but surely after the matter had been cleared. But what had his godfather done instead? He had handed Harry over to Hagrid and thus into his future with the Dursleys without a second thought about it. If he really cared as much about him as he always claimed, wouldn't his first concern have been that Harry had a home? A home where he would be raised by people who cared for him, who loved him? It should have been, but Sirius had proven otherwise. 

No, Sirius had not earned an explanation. If he wasn't able to understand himself, then it would be of no use to explain it to him.

These were the thoughts that went through Harry's mind while he wandered aimlessly through the corridors. The castle was unusually quiet, Harry hardly met anybody on his way. Much to his dismay, he found every door he tried to open locked. Harry mused that this had to be one of the security precautions the teachers had been busy with all day, but at the moment it annoyed him to no end. Wasn't there one single place where he could go to be alone for a couple of minutes?

His silent question was answered when the door he tried next opened immediately. Harry frowned at this, but then realized that he had just entered the DADA classroom, one of the meeting points for a possible evacuation. It would be absolutely idiotic to keep this door locked.

Deciding that this room was as good as any, Harry stepped in and closed the door behind him. Then he dragged an armchair from the corner of the room in front of the window and sat down, overlooking the castle grounds.

Somewhere in the distance he saw Hagrid doing something he could not clearly make out at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. For a moment Harry wondered why Hagrid was carrying around a pink umbrella. It was cold outside, freezing cold to be precise, but it surely would not rain today. Then Harry remembered that Hagrid's broken wand was hidden inside of that umbrella and he understood why Hagrid carried it around. He just hoped that it would be of any use if Hagrid saw the need to use it, Harry could clearly remember the damage a broken wand could do from his second year. Ron had not been very lucky with his one.

The sound of a door being shut pulled Harry out of his thought. Turning around, he saw Remus standing in the doorway and immediately he groaned. Just what he needed now. Somebody who practiced parenting.

"Harry, there you are."

Harry rolled his eyes at this keen observation, but remained silent. This didn't seem to disturb Remus.

"I was hoping to find you because I wanted to talk to you before I have to leave tonight."

"Listen Remus, not now okay? Actually I've come here because I wanted to be alone for a while. Can't we talk later?"

Remus ignored him and pulled an armchair in front of Harry's. As soon as Remus sat down, Harry got up.

"Fine, if you don't go away then I'll leave."

Before Harry even reached the door, Remus had pulled out his wand and muttered two or three incarnations. When Harry tried to open the door, it didn't even move an inch. Harry tried again, pulling harder this time, but the door remained closed. 

'Two can play that game', Harry thought and pulled out his own wand, but before he even tried to unlock the door, Remus spoke up again.

"I don't think that there's any use in that, Harry. It's a locking charm that won't be opened by a mere Alohomora, and before you even think about banging on the door and crying for help I think I should tell you that I also cast a silencing charm on the door."

Harry turned around and just stared at his teacher and supposed-to-be friend in disbelief.

"And why exactly do you waste your time in tracking me down and locking me in? Don't you have anything else to do?" Harry hissed in an angry voice. Remus just shook his head.

"As a matter of fact – no, I don't. At least I can't imagine anything I'd consider as important as this here. You might as well sit down again, because I don't intend to open that door before we two have talked."

"And if I don't want to talk?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, then you'll just listen to me. But, to be bluntly honest, I don't care what you want right now. So please sit down."

Remus' voice didn't hold any of its usual warmth, it was matter-of-factly and it seemed to be that he was very determined to finish whatever it was that he was planning.

Sighing, Harry flung himself back into the armchair again, crossing his hands across his chest in a determined gesture. Whatever Remus wanted, he should get over with it as soon as possible, but Harry wouldn't play along with his little game.

"So _Professor Lupin, what is so important that you need to lock me in to tell me?"_

Remus decided to ignore Harry's statement and merely looked at him for a couple of moments. Then he sighed and rubbed his nose with his index- and middle finger, a gesture Harry knew he only made when he desperately tried to remain calm. Mostly Harry had seen him do this when he had tried to talk reason into Sirius during the latest holidays.

Finally, he looked up at Harry.

"I want some answers, Harry."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What are the questions? Is this an early exam, in case I don't live to see the end of the school year?"

"Self-pity is wonderful, isn't it?"

Harry was stunned for a moment. What did Remus want now?

"What?"

"Oh, I think you understand what I mean. I can imagine you quite well, strolling around in school in search of a place where you can drown into your self-pity without anybody telling you to stop it."

"Listen Remus, I don't know what you're playing here, but I'd advice you to let me out of this room right now. This conversation leads nowhere."

"Then tell me what you were doing up here?"

"I already told you: I wanted to be alone."

Remus laughed.

"And what did you want to be alone for, if not to chew over how bad life is treating you?"

"Who are you, my psychiatrist?"  
"Harry James Potter, I'd advice you to drop this attitude right now, you're only making things worse."

Harry had seen Remus angry on several occasions, mostly with Sirius. Then he had shouted out his anger. But the low, menacing tone that his voice held now sounded far more dangerous than any shouting could have. Harry saw in Remus' bearing that he was nowhere even near relaxed, in fact he was tense all over and his amber eyes seemed to be sparkling with hardly back held fury. 

Tonight was full moon, Harry reminded himself, and Sirius had often enough reminded him that it was not advisable to provoke the werewolf around that time.

"You will listen to me now, Harry. And listen carefully. Sirius might not have understood it, I can't blame him because he really has a lot of other things on his mind right now, but don't think that I didn't understand the hint you dropped when we met in my office. When you told Sirius to get a time-turner and try not to be such a coward. I understand perfectly well what you were talking about then, and I will tell you now, and I will tell you only once, that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Now it was Harry's turn to get angry.

"I don't? Then let me tell you something, Mr. Know-it-better, I know perfectly well what I am talking about. I know what Sirius' cowardice has cost me and I know perfectly well that somebody who really cared for me would have acted differently."

"And how can you judge what was going on then? How can you judge that Sirius made all the mistakes that ruined your life? How dare you blame him for trying to save your parents' lives and your life as well? You have no right to do so, Harry. Especially not all of a sudden, after telling him countless times before that you didn't blame him at all."

"_Save my parents' lives? Whoa, he did a very good job at that, didn't he?"_

"I said he tried everything he could to save their lives, I didn't say that he succeeded."

The conversation Remus had wanted to have now appeared to become a shouting match.

"Then maybe he didn't try hard enough! He told them to switch to Peter, he was too much of a coward to do that himself!"

"He told them to switch to Peter because everybody would have suspected Sirius to be the one. The Death Eaters would have been searching for him if Wormtail had not been the traitor. Sirius was putting his own life into danger to ensure your parents' safety. To ensure your safety. Where's the cowardice in that? And he didn't force them to make the switch, it was their choice to do so. Now, why don't you blame your parents for that, why do you blame Sirius alone? He's not responsible for everything that has happened to you!"

"Dad trusted Sirius, that's why he agreed to that switch."

Remus just shook his head.

"And Sirius trusted Peter. Like we all trusted Peter, your parents included. I know that it's hard for you to understand, but Harry, you have not witnessed it. Peter was our friend, there was no reason not to trust him. It's easy to judge about something if you already know the outcome of it, but you're making things way too easy if you think along those lines."

"If Sirius really cared as much about me as you said, then please tell me why he left me with the Dursleys and hunted Peter down instead of taking care of me. Tell me that, just give me a reason that I can understand!"

Harry now had gotten up from his armchair and started pacing in front of the blackboard. Remus watched him with a slightly annoyed expression. The boy's stubbornness slowly drove him mad.

"I don't think you can ever understand what goes through a man's head when he finds two of his best friends murdered. Especially if he knows who is to blame for that, and if he blames himself as well. Don't you think that I've asked him that question as well, just because I myself didn't fully understand? 

But that night Sirius was not in any state to take his time and think about all possibilities. He had just found his best friend, a man that was as close as a brother to him, dead, along with his wife. He was sad, he was angry – no, furious – and he knew that at that moment there was nothing he could do for you. You were alive, you were safe and had Dumbledore watching over you. Do you think Sirius intended to go to Azkaban? I don't think that he even thought about that possibility when he went after Peter. 

Sure, Sirius is impulsive, and sure he sometimes act rashly, and I am the last person to deny that he has made mistakes in the past. I even do agree that it was a mistake to go after Peter on his own, a big mistake. But believe me, Sirius has paid for it. In fact, he is still paying for it and will be for the rest of his life, he doesn't need you to make it even worse for him. Have you ever, just for one second, thought about his feelings? Have you ever thought about how much it hurts him to see you react this way? Especially after you seemed to be perfectly alright with him ever since you got to know him. I don't think you have the right to let somebody, who has suffered twelve years in a place which is worse than you can ever imagine, build up an emotional bond with you and then strike him down in an act of teenage rebellion. You have no right to do that, Harry."

For long moments, Harry just stared at Remus as if he was contemplating what his teacher had just told him. And just as Remus started to hope that he had finally gotten through to the boy, his features hardened again.

"I think I have every right to do that. Had it not be for him, my whole life would have been different. I would have had parents, a family, people who love me. I was just fifteen months old, Remus, I never had the chance to know them. I don't even remember them. But thanks to him, I have not only no family, but also a lunatic Dark Lord out there who wants me dead at all costs. Really, now that you told me, I think I should thank Sirius for that."

"Back to the self-pity again, aren't we? Now let me tell you one thing: If Sirius had been your parent's secret keeper, then he would not have given them away, I am sure of that. Probably he would have been found by the Death Eaters eventually, and it's also highly probable that he would have died. But you would have had your family. What is this Harry? Bargaining lives against each other? And think about that: If your parents had not died, then Voldemort would have remained alive as well. And none of us can imagine where this would have led to. Possibly, none of us and none of your friends would have lived to see this day.

I know that your life has not always been pleasant Harry. I know what those muggles have done to you. And believe me, if there was any way to change that, I'd do it. But you can't change the past, you can't undo what has been done.

And I don't believe that your life is as bad as you depict it. Not nearly. You have friends, you have people who care for you, who love you. Why do you think do Hermione and Ron want to stay in the castle despite better knowledge? Because they think that fighting is a good entertainment? I don't think so. You have things that are worth going through dark times for, but you simply refuse to see them. 

Don't you think I know what I am talking about? Don't you think I've been there long before you?

After I had realized the full impact of my lycanthropy, I was pitying myself just as well. I was searching for the one who was to blame. Believe me, if I had ever found my alpha wolf, I'd have let him taste all the anger and hurt that he inflicted on me. 

We are not that different from each other, Harry. Both of us have lost very much when we were too young to do anything against it. You have lost your family and I have lost a part of myself. For six years I thought that life had turned against me. Truly, I wasn't fighting a Dark Lord, but I was fighting with the dark that was in me and still is. I had no friends but instead strangers who told me that I was evil and dark. Do you know what it feels like to hear a doctor advising your parents to 'get rid of the creature before it hurts somebody else'? I bet you don't. But just like you I was given the opportunity to start all new when I came to Hogwarts. You found Ron and Hermione and I found James, Sirius and Peter. And just like my friends didn't let me down because of what I was, Ron and Hermione don't think differently of you because of who you are. And the friends you've found are not the only thing that is good in your life, you just don't admit that to yourself because it's way easier to think that everything has turned against you.

I know that burying yourself in self-pity and What-ifs doesn't do you any good. I had to learn it the hard way, I'd ask you to take my advice and avoid that.

I don't believe in fate, but I do believe that there are things which we simply cannot change. And Harry, if you don't accept who and what you are, then you'll never be able to let go of the past. Especially if you search for the one to blame in the totally wrong place. 

Sirius loved your parents, and Sirius loves you. He would have never done anything to hurt or harm you, not willingly. He has made a mistake and he blames himself more than enough for it, even though he is not the one to blame at all."

Remus locked his gaze with Harry's and for long minutes just stared into his eyes, as if searching for something. Then he got up and slowly made his way towards the door. When he had reached it, he turned around again and once more looked at Harry.

"Don't hurt somebody else just because you cannot handle who and what you are. Especially not somebody who loves you and whom you love just as well. You'll regret it, believe me. I know what I'm talking about.

I'll see you at dinner, Harry."

With this, Remus unlocked the door and went out of the room, leaving a very confused Harry behind.


	10. The Day After

_Okay, here we go with Chapter 10. And before you start flaming me, yes I know that it's shorter than the average chapter of this story. I'm quite busy at the moment, university royally sucks, believe me. But I didn't want to keep you with that unintended cliffhanger for another week. _

_I know that my replies to your questions for last chapter were a bit confusing, because I thought that chapter 9 would start where chapter 8 ended, but it turned out that it didn't and I didn't change the A/N. So, here you really go with some answers, and the real action is not that far away, either. Within the next 1 or 2 chapters I'll start the connection to the ending of the story that I've already written, and then there will be some serious action going on! Promise. And cliffies! Plenty of them – evil ones. I can already tell you that one chapter will end with the word "Kedavra"!_

_Mwhahahahahaha__!_

_Here goes your good night's sleep for the next couple of weeks, am I right?_

_Okay, enough for my senseless rambling, on we go with the A/N:_

_sarahpeach__: Yeah, I want more Sirius, too. And there will be more of him, plenty of Sirius to be precise. He'll have an important role to play further on…Sorry for telling you you were right without solving the cliffie, I didn't intend to do it that way. But this chapter holds all the answers, that's a promise. Well, not all the answers, but the ones for the most recent problems…_

_evil spapple pie__: Don't you know the feeling that you let a chapter end and all of a sudden people tell you "man, that was an evil cliffhanger", and then you read it again and think 'Oh yeah, they're right'? I knew what Remus saw on the grounds, so I didn't think it was a cliffhanger. Sorry for that. *g*_

_And I'm afraid that at the moment hardly anything will get through to Harry. He thinks about what Remus said, but he's heavy on the 'rebellious teenager who can handle everything on his own' trip, I'm afraid._

_You can't ban Sirius from girls and alcohol, believe me. Been there, done it. It will only become worse and he'll start pranking you._

_38°????????????? Start of Summer?????????????????? Okay, in __Australia__ it's the other way around, but only for your notice: We got 0° at the moment, and an icy wind that makes it feel like -10°! COOOLD!_

_I wanted to have more Severus in the movie, too. Alan Rickman rules!!!_

_And here you go with the next chapter!_

_darkphoenix__: Sorry bout the cliffie. Really. Do big puppy eyes work as an apology? I'm glad you liked the scene between Remus and Harry, it was fun to write it! I'm still working on how Sirius and Harry can possibly make up, but all I know so far is that it won't be pretty. There will be loads of stuff happening until then, and it won't make things easier. Semester won't be over till end of February here in __Germany__, so there's still a lot more work to do. But after the next fortnight, my university life will be easier and I hope to have the story finished till mid of January the latest. I don't think I will post over the Christmas holidays, I'll be at home then and my parents don't have an internet account._

_Maryanne__: Thank you so much! And here you go!!!_

_Eva__: Now I get it. No, I don't know X-Men, so I didn't get that hint. But someone else will make Harry understand. I know that I already mailed you, but for the others to read as well: the story will have around 15 chapters when it's finished and hopefully more than 100000 words. (That's the barrier I want to cross…)_

_Bobbi__: Glad you enjoy it! I do so, too. And believe me, it's far more fun if you know what's going to happen. From now on: cliffhangers after cliffhangers! Mwhahahaha!_

_Narcoleptic__: Yepp, Remus snapped. About time, if you ask me. Never provoke a werewolf, especially not around full moon. And yes, there will be a battle, and there will be Severus in it. The part between him and Dumbledore will be important, just as well. A tent in front of the Computer? What do your parents say about this? Wouldn't a bed be a lot more comfortable? *g*_

_Dumbledore__: I've had that hint about the recipe before, I think. But somehow I stick to the wrong word, don't know how. My German mind is somewhat twisted when it comes to vocabulary, but I'll try to remember it in the future. Here you go with the next chapter!_

_Ms. Issues__: No, a mere 'I'm sorry' won't be enough. That's the hard part about it, but Harry will have to see that yet. Glad you enjoyed the scene!_

_lily potter__: Well, there are some good guessers out there. But I won't tell more. Just be prepared for some action and maybe have a couple of tissues. They might come in handy._

_Leap of fate__: Thank you, but I think that there are still some differences between JKR and me. I for one **do continue writing. *g* No, but serious, I could only wish to be as gifted as she is, but she really could hurry up a little with book 5!**_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Sorry for that. Okay, here you go!_

_A.Dee__: There is a German saying: Hoffen und Harren macht manchen zum Narren. __It means (roughly translated) Hoping and waiting tends to make a fool out of people. But just continue hoping. As Arwen says in The __Two__Towers__ (though I despise her role in the movie) "There is still Hope"_

_naughynat__: Hormones? Now, here's a good explanation…_

_Vegeta__ Jr__.: I won't tell too much: No time for talking before the battle. And afterwards…who knows? But here you go anyway!_

_elmtree__: Glad you liked the speech, I thoroughly enjoyed writing it! Did I get that right and you spent entire 7 hours with reading my fic? Wow, I'm impressed! Here goes the next chapter!_

_Schwester__ Aurelia__: E mail is on it's way, no way could I respond to that one here. (But then I'd already have the 100000 words…)_

**_Guys, we need to talk. Come closer. Closer. CLOSER!_**

_*Grabs readers and hugs each and every one of them*_

_THANK YOU! Do you know that the review number for THE FINAL __BATTLE__ now is larger than the reviews for THE LAST MARAUDER? And that were already awfully many reviews! I'm so glad that you all like my story and I hope I won't disappoint you in the end…*wipes away a little tear and hugs readers again*_

_Okay, what are you staring at? There's a chapter to read!_

_Enjoy!_

**The Day After**

Remus hurried back into his chambers, trying not to let his anger show to the few people he met on his way. It had taken him a lot of self-restraint to remain calm while talking to Harry, when the full moon pulled at him he was walking on a very thin line between calmness and fury. And the stubborn boy had nearly made him give in to the fury and try to shake some sense into him. Once or twice during their conversation Remus had even felt the wolf surfacing, screaming into his mind to make the boy see reason. That was why it wasn't advisable to argue with him around full moon, his wolf mostly got the better of him then.

Remus had only ever met one person who could be just as stubborn as Harry, and that was the person the boy still refused to talk to.

Still fuming, Remus reached his rooms and flung the doors open. Sirius, who had been sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace, had spun around and pulled out his wand at the sound of the slamming door. Even though his name had been cleared for nearly a year now, the years on flight had left their marks in Sirius' behaviour and still provoked him to react like an escaped convict from time to time. Once, during the Christmas holidays, Remus had unfortunately been the receiving end of a curse from the startled Sirius. He had merely closed the refrigerator door with a sudden sound, he had not thought about it twice. But Sirius had been so lost in the newspaper he had been reading that he had not acknowledged Remus' presence in the room. At the sound of the door slammed shut, he had spun around and shot a full body bind onto the 'intruder'. Remus had fallen to the ground and had received a nasty gash where his head had hit the counter. 

He had been quite angry at that time, even though he could understand where that overwhelming urge for self defence stemmed from, and though Sirius had apologized and sworn that it would never happen again, Remus had promised himself not to startle his friend anymore. It was an act of self-protection.

But now he had forgotten about it, and seeing Sirius with his wand raised at him, a curse already on the lips, he scolded himself that he had allowed Harry to upset him like that. Remus shook his head while Sirius sighed and put away the wand again.

"Lucky you hesitated this time, or I'd have another scar in my collection."

Sirius didn't answer to the jest, but merely stared at his old friend.

"You don't look too good. What happened, did you have a little encounter with everybody's favourite Slytherin?"

Remus only shook his head and made his way towards the bedroom, but Sirius didn't give up that easily, Remus should have known that. In mid-way he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Sighing, Remus turned around, only to see a genuinely concerned Sirius standing in front of him.

"Now, what's up? First you leave without telling me what you're doing, though it was quite obvious that you were up to something, and now you come back and look as if you had duelled with the Devil himself. Care to tell me what really went on?"

Remus just shook his head and allowed himself to fall quite unceremoniously into an armchair next to the fireplace.

"Well, you're quite right about one thing. I feel as if I had duelled the Devil himself, honestly."

"So you did meet that slimy git Snape on your way here, didn't you?"

Again, Remus only shook his head.

"No, actually I didn't meet Severus on my way here. I went to talk to Harry before the fracas tonight possibly starts. And believe me, it surely is easier to convince Severus to wash his hair than to have a reasonable conversation with your godson."

Sirius let himself fall onto the sofa in front of Remus and stared at his friend.

"What did you do?"

"Locked myself with him in the DADA classroom and told him that I wouldn't let him out before he told me what was going on with him."

Sirius laughed harshly.

"Oh really, as if that would work. You knew that the boy is stubborn as hell."

Remus nodded pensively. He was fighting an inner struggle as to what he should tell Sirius from his conversation with Harry.

"Oh yes, stubborn he is, but I merely didn't give in. And if he had not started talking, we would possibly have sat there until Voldemort himself had started searching for him."

Now Sirius raised a curious eyebrow.

"You mean he actually talked to you?"

"More like shouted, but yes. Wasn't pretty, I can tell you. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's your son. Just as stubborn and hot-tempered, really."

Sirius now sat on the edge of the couch, clearly curious as to what his godson had told Remus about the reasons for his behaviour. 

"And? What did he say?"

Remus realized that holding back the truth from his old friend wouldn't work this time, and maybe it was for the best that Sirius finally knew what was going on. He sighed.

"To sum it up? From what he said and even more from what he shouted, I guess that ever since he's woken up he has started blaming you for what happened to Lily and James. He thinks that you're to blame for the fact that he doesn't have a family anymore."

The reason why Remus had hesitated to tell Sirius about this was that he knew exactly how Sirius would react to that revelation. James' and Lily's death was a blame Sirius was more than willing to take, and Remus wasn't fairly sure whether he himself was ready for another round of self pity on Sirius' behalf. But in the end it was Sirius' right to know, and if somebody knew how to talk Harry out of that idiotic idea, then maybe it was his godfather himself. Now he doubted that it had been such a hell of a good idea. Sirius sat in front of him, opening and closing his mouth  like a fish, clearly searching for the right words.

"He…what??? But…why…and now?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"I really don't know Sirius. I still am convinced that something happened while he was asleep, something he didn't tell anybody about. And that's the outcome. He has withdrawn far into himself, and somehow he thinks he knows everything about the situation back then and that he has the right to judge over everybody's behaviour, especially yours. I really don't know Sirius, I don't know what to do. I tried everything I could think of to talk some sense into him, but I don't think it worked. He's so convinced of the idea that you're the one to blame, he won't let go off it."

Seeing the expression on his best friend's face, Remus quickly became even more serious. 

"And don't even start it, Padfoot, don't even start it. I swear, if I hear one word along the line of 'maybe he's right' from you, I'll hex you from here to next Tuesday without thinking twice about it. Now is not the time to wallow yourself in self-pity, that won't help anybody. Least of all yourself."

Sirius sighed and shook his head, clearly not convinced of what his friend had told him.

"But we have another problem at hand."

Sirius looked up expectantly.

"What?"

"I overheard Ron and Hermione this morning. They plan not to leave the castle in case something happens tonight."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders.

"And? Dumbledore has got the Marauder's Map, even if they use the invisibility cloak, they'll show up on the map and we'll be able to send them away along with the others."

Remus shook his head.

"I still don't like it. They won't be leaving easily, and if we are attacked we won't have enough time to have a reasonable discussion with them."  
"So what do you suggest?"

Remus got up to his feet again and determinedly walked towards the door.

"I'll have a quick talk with Albus and then I'll have another talk with Ron and Hermione. Do you want to come along? A distraction might do you wonders, it's no use if you just ponder on your problems. And maybe Harry has used his time to think about what I told him…"

Sirius quickly got to his feet at the prospect of a calmed-down Harry and followed Remus out of the door.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After Remus had stormed out of the DADA classroom, Harry had continued staring out of the window for a couple of minutes. Truly, Remus had been angry, furious even. Harry could tell that with some practice from the latest holidays. But he had been far from being calm himself. Did it really never stop? Would everybody continue just like this, telling him what was right and what was wrong, telling him what to think and never allowing him to make up his own mind about things?

It was true, Remus had known his parents while they had been still alive, and probably he knew what they had thought then. But he had seen them, had lived with them just recently. He knew very well that Sirius and Remus were wrong if they thought that his parents would forgive Sirius his cowardice so easily. He knew that especially his father didn't want him to take Sirius as a role model, he knew that James was highly disappointed by his former best friend.

And now Remus came and tried to tell him that he knew better and that Harry – just as usual – knew nothing at all. But not this time! No way! Harry had been ready to give in and talk to his godfather before Remus had started playing teacher again, but not now. Those two really thought that they knew anything, didn't they?

Angrily, Harry got up from his chair and left the room, slamming the door shut behind himself. Nobody was there to hear it, but Harry didn't care at the moment. All he wanted was to find something to let his anger out on, and why not chose a door?

"Oh---Rotty---Rotty---Potty---!"

Or – Harry thought – why not chose Peeves?

A malicious grin on his face, Harry pulled out his wand and thought about a good hex or curse for the annoying Poltergeist.

Peeves opened his mouth again, another insult already on his lips, when Harry raised his wand and shouted:

"_Stupefy!"_

Not very inventive, but it did its job nevertheless.

Of course Harry knew that the stunning curse wouldn't last long against a Poltergeist, but somehow it gave him at least a satisfied feeling in his stomach that there had been something he could do against that unnerving ghost.

With a grin on his face, Harry made his way down the staircases towards the Great Hall. Peeves would be even more of an annoyance after the stunning spell had worn off, but at the moment Harry couldn't care less about it. maybe he didn't even live to see tomorrow at all, so why should he still care about the hurt pride of a Poltergeist?

Harry started whistling a tune he had heard on the radio during his holidays, and with a swing in his step he entered the Great Hall and made his way towards the Gryffindor table where Ron and Hermione were already waiting for him.

The Great Hall was unusually quiet this evening. Though most of the students had come at the same time, because nobody really wanted to wander the castle alone, hardly anybody spoke. Everybody in the room was tense and nervous, a fact that also applied to the teachers.

Flitwick's voice was even more squeaky than usual, McGonagall's lips were pressed together even more tightly, Snape was even more pale and one look at Remus showed him clearly tat the moon was already pulling very hard on him, a fact Harry had not noticed earlier on during their conversation.

Shaking his head, Harry sat down next to Ron and helped himself to some dinner. If he had to face the Dark Lord tonight, he surely wouldn't do it on an empty stomach. The thought of how little he actually cared about what he was to confront that night nearly made Harry laugh. But it was true, he couldn't care less about what would happen to him anymore. What had Hagrid said? What comes, does come and there's no way that we can prevent it. Something along these lines, at least.

Ron and Hermione shot him curious looks, obviously his absence and now his reappearance with a somewhat mad smile on his lips had done nothing to ease their minds.

"Where have you been, Harry?"

Ron finally blurted out. Harry grinned painfully.

"I've taken a walk around the castle, but Remus thought it would be a wise idea to give me a last lecture about how I am allowed to behave and what I am allowed to think. He locked me in the DADA classroom and refused to let me out, that's why I've been away so long."

Hermione just shot him a curious look.

"And what did you two talk about?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing important, really. Let's talk about something less tense, there's enough tension in this room to last for a lifetime. What have you two been up to this afternoon?"

Ron and Hermione shrugged their shoulders.

"Well, Hermione has been in the library, as usual. I guess she wanted to pay it a last visit, in case the castle isn't there anymore tomorrow. I on the other hand have been thinking about a way to stay in the castle tonight."

Harry shook his head.

"Listen Ron, as glad as I am that you two don't want to leave me alone, but please listen to me. It's of no use if you stay here and endanger yourself on my behalf. And Dumbledore won't let you, he asked me to hand over the Marauder's Map, so you won't have any chance to stay unnoticed anyway. Just do me a favour and leave when we get attacked. I'd be more at ease to know that you're safe."

Hermione slowly nodded, seeing the reason in Harry's words, but Ron shook his head feverishly.

"No way I'm going to leave you here alone, I thought you knew that. If Dumbledore wants to send me away with the others, he'll have to find me and make me leave."

Harry smiled but now it was Hermione's turn to shake her head in protest.

"Ron, maybe Harry is right. I mean, when the castle gets attacked, they'll have more important things to do than waste their time in searching for us. Maybe we should leave with the others, though I hate that idea just as much as you do."

Ron merely kept on shaking his head, indicating tht there was nothing that could convince him of leaving his best friend alone in time of need.

They were interrupted, however, when Dumbledore rose from his seat after the meal.

"Just a short notice for everybody before you leave. As you all know, the possibility that we'll be attacked tonight remains. I once again advice you to keep the rules for this night in mind. The teachers and I have agreed that no student is allowed to leave his or her common room after nine o'clock, this should make an evacuation easier if needed. The corridors will be patrolled by teachers; the prefects and Head Boy and Head Girl meet with the teachers after dinner in the staff room, please.

That is all, you may leave now."

Dumbledore sat down again, and Ron, Harry and Hermione were just about getting up and leaving the Great Hall together with their classmates, when Dumbledore's voice held them back.

"Miss Granger, Misters Weasley and Potter, a word if you don't mind."

The three teens looked at each other, but as everybody didn't seem to have an explanation for this, they simply followed the headmaster into the antechamber of the Great Hall. Not very surprisingly, Sirius and Remus were already waiting for them.

"Professor? You wanted to speak to us?"

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes sparkling somewhat mischievously behind his half moon glasses.

"Yes Ms. Granger, indeed. Now, word has reached my ears that you and Mr. Weasley refuse to leave the castle tonight, even in case that we get attacked. Is that true?"

Hermione blushed and looked at the floor while Ron glared daggers at Remus. This morning, Hermione and Ron had met him in the DADA corridor and just like Ron had guessed he must have overheard parts of their conversation from the door to his classroom. Blasted keen werewolf hearing!

Ron shook his head. He had thought that Remus, no especially Remus, had an understanding for what leaving the castle meant for him and Hermione. From everything he had heard about the Marauders, none of them would have abandoned their friends either. Hermione started to speak, but Ron interrupted her.

"Professor, we didn't…"

"Yes Professor, we won't leave Harry behind. Maybe there won't be much for us to do, but I don't want to leave the castle, not knowing whether my friend is still alive when I return. You will have to catch me and drag me out of the castle to make me leave."

While saying this, Ron kept on glaring openly at Remus, who didn't flinch but caught Ron's furious gaze and returned it calmly.

Hermione drew a shocked breath of air, but Dumbledore merely continued looking at Ron with the same sparkle in his eyes.

"I'm afraid that we won't have much time for a game of hide-and-seek in case we get attacked tonight. That's why I asked you to come here, in fact.

Remus and Sirius have told me countless times that it is hardly possible to separate the three of you in times of need, but only now I realize how right they were about this. So I have a bargain for you.

If we get attacked tonight, you won't have to leave with your housemates. I allow you to stay at the castle, but under certain conditions:

Sirius will fetch the three of you in your Common Room and then will guide you into the Great Hall. No walking around on your own.

Minerva will floo to the Ministry for reinforcements and the Great Hall will become the temporary infirmary during the attack. This is where you, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, will stay during the attack. You won't leave the Great Hall, under no circumstances, is that understood? Madam Pomfrey can surely need some helping hands when things get tough."

Ron and Hermione nodded, though Ron still seemed quite reluctant about this.

"So we won't be able to stay with Harry?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Mr. Weasley, under no circumstances will I allow you to stay at Harry's side during the entire ordeal. Other than being another pair of under aged wizards to watch, the two of you would make the perfect bait or pawn for the Dark Lord. No, you will stay inside of the castle, all the time, inside of the Great Hall to be precise."

Both nodded.

"Okay."

Ron still wasn't convinced, but he realized that there was nothing he could do to get more out of the headmaster.

Dumbledore meanwhile turned towards Harry.

"You Mr. Potter will stay in the castle just as well, until you hear something different from me. Under no circumstances will you leave Sirius' side."

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes.

"And what if he leaves the castle?"

"He won't leave the castle unless circumstances leave him no other choice. In that case, you do what I just told you – stay close to him, don't leave his sight and listen to what he tells you. And under no circumstances you'll go and seek out the Dark Lord yourself, no matter what happens. Is that understood?"

Harry nodded, but again rolled his eyes. He could guess quite clearly why Dumbledore wanted to force him to stay close to Sirius, but the idea annoyed him without ends. For some moments, Dumbledore locked his gaze with Harry's, then he smiled and clapped his hands. 

"Now that his is cleared, I'd advise you to go to Gryffindor Tower and try to grab some sleep. Good night."

"Good night."

The three chorused in unison and turned to leave the room. For a short moment, Harry and Sirius looked at each other, but just when Sirius started to say something, Harry quickly looked away and stepped towards the door.

The three Gryffindors made their way back into their common room in silence. Just when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ron broke the somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"Well, that was better than we expected, wasn't it?"

Hermione nodded and gave the password while Harry only snorted mockingly.

"Yeah, for you maybe. You're not forced to stick to Sirius for the entire evening. Let alone search out Voldemort, of which I still don't know how Dumbledore wants to achieve it."

Hermione shook her head while Ron still flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name.

"Well, I think that there are worse things than to stay at Sirius' side. At least now I won't be that concerned about your safety anymore, Harry."

Harry just shook his head and made his way towards the staircase.

"Whatever. I think I'll go to bed now, better grab some sleep while I still can. Good night Ron, Hermione."

He nodded at his two friends who returned his good night greetings, and then made his way upstairs into his dormitory.

Harry was fairly sure that he wouldn't get any sleep that night, but lying in bed and at least trying to get some seemed to be more reasonable than staying up and worrying.

Downstairs in the Common Room, Ron and Hermione remained for some minutes more, both struggling to find the right words for what was going on inside of their minds. Ron stared at his friend somewhat strangely for some moments, before he nodded at her and turned towards the staircase.

"Night Herm."

She nodded back.

"Night Ron."

Some things didn't need many words to express.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

That all had been yesterday evening.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Now it was morning, dawn rose over Hogwarts. Under the unmoving form of the Whomping Willow stood the likewise unmoving form of Remus J. Lupin and stared at the sight that lay in front of him. From time to time he shook his head, the only sign indicating that he had not turned into stone.

Remus could not believe what he saw on the grounds of Hogwarts. For some long minutes, he merely stared at what he saw, trying to make sense of it. Something here was dreadfully wrong, it all felt wrong.

He had to go, he had to find Dumbledore and Sirius. Maybe they had an explanation for what had happened that night. Or rather - for what had not happened.

Remus himself could come up with some explanations on his own, but he refused to let his mind ponder on any of them now. They were all far too upsetting, and each of them rather posed more questions than really answering them.

As fast as his feet would carry him, Remus ran across the grounds and into the castle. He didn't meet anybody on his way, everything was quiet. As he ran through the dark castle, Remus couldn't help but feel as if he was the only person left at Hogwarts. Nothing moved, no voices could be heard and not even one of the ghosts or Peeves made an appearance. None of this helped to brighten his mood or calm his worries, of course.

Panting, Remus reached the stone gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office, only to realize that this was where his journey ended. The headmaster had changed the password yesterday, he knew as much. What he didn't know was the new password. Dumbledore's liking for sweets was widely known, so Remus guessed he had changed it into something that could not be bought at Honeydukes this time. But what? Randomly, Remus tried some sweets (despite better knowledge) as well as the names of some former headmasters and famous wizards and witches. Nothing happened.

Remus leaned on the stonewall next to the gargoyle and thought hard. Dumbledore must have chosen a password that would make it impossible for any Death Eater who might enter the castle to get into his office and bring down the wards around the castle. But what could be the safest password, something no Death Eater would never try to use?

Remus had to smile. Dumbledore's sense of humour sometimes really was weird, but this time it appeared to provide the best solution possible. Of course, the only word most Death Eaters were far too afraid to utter aloud was

"Voldemort".

Immediately, the gargoyle moved aside and Remus ran up the spiral staircase behind it as fast as his feet would carry him. When he reached the wooden door, he was panting again and the room around him began to spin a little. He raised a hand and knocked, then leaned heavily onto the wooden doorframe and waited for an answer.

"Come in."

Hesitating shortly, Remus opened the door and entered the room. Albus was standing behind his desk, and in the chairs in front of it Hermes Wielding and three Ministry Aurors were seated. McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Sirius sat on sofas and chairs at the wall.

The moment Remus opened the doors, everybody in the room started staring at him. Looking down on himself, Remus realized that he indeed gave a strange impression. He wore his oldest robes and pants, his hair was untidy and there surely were deep shadows under his eyes making him look ill. Besides, he was panting hard and feeling as if he would collapse any moment.

Sirius immediately jumped to his feet and helped Remus onto the next sofa while Dumbledore turned towards the fireplace and spoke to somebody. Then he poured some tea into a mug and handed it to Sirius who had sat down next to Remus. 

Remus wanted to take the mug himself, but only then did he realize that he was shivering far too much to hold the cup steady. Sirius was just about to spread a blanket across his shoulders when Madam Pomfrey came bursting into the room and immediately started checking Remus over.

Dumbledore smiled somewhat sheepishly, it was the first time that Remus saw him like that.

"I'm so sorry if you were worried Remus. I'm afraid that we completely forgot to look after you this morning. Last night's events were quite…strange and unexpected, to put it mildly."

Remus tried to sit up despite Madam Pomfrey's efforts to check on him and despite Sirius' attempts to make him drink the warm tea. All the fussing about him as if he was invalid made him feel embarrassed, especially since it not only happened in front of Dumbledore, but also in front of some staff members, Snape included, the Minister of Magic and three Aurors. Not to mention that this whole ordeal had interrupted the conversation that had been going on before he arrived. Finally, Remus managed to sit up again and looked around.

McGonagall was involved in a whispered discussion with Flitwick while Snape seemed to be gleeful about Remus' distress. Hermes and Dumbledore were watching him with a mixture of concern and amusement while the three Aurors just stared at him.

Remus shrugged away Madam Pomfrey's hand and tried to catch Dumbledore's gaze.

"Albus, what happened last night?"

Dumbledore smiled tiredly and shook his head.

"We were just discussing it, Remus. Last night…nothing happened."

Remus leaned back against the sofa and stared at his former headmaster in disbelief.

"What do you mean, 'nothing'?"

Dumbledore just shrugged.

"What I say. Nothing happened. There was no attack, neither on Hogwarts, nor on the Ministry or any other place, be it magical or muggle. Hermes just arrived to discuss the possible meaning behind this."

Remus shook his head and tried to find a deeper meaning behind everything he had seen since he had left the tunnel this morning and had found the Hogwarts grounds in exactly the same way than they had been the evening before. Ever since then, his instincts had begun to run amok, something seemed to scream 'not right' inside of him. Something was wrong, full moon had been the ideal time for an attack on Hogwarts, he had no explanation why Voldemort would let such a possibility pass away unused.

Dumbledore watched him with a somewhat bemused expression.

"Believe me Remus, when I say that we've been thinking along the same lines. It has been the ideal opportunity, why did Voldemort let it pass? But I'm afraid that neither of us had an answer for it."

For the first time, one of the Ministry Aurors spoke.

"Why don't we ask the werewolf here himself what You-Know-Who told him and his kin? I thought that providing such information was the reason why he was allowed to stay here."

Remus felt Sirius tense beside him at those words and immediately put an arm across his stomach to prevent him from jumping at the Auror and beating him into a bloody pulp. He was no child anymore and this was no Slytherin who had made a nasty remark. Remus was an adult now and he had learned to stand up on his own behalf long ago, something Sirius often refused to see.

With a saccharine sweet smile towards the Auror, Remus began.

"Believe me, Auror…", he looked at the name tag on the Auror's uniform, "Auror Waylans, if there was something like a _'shared werewolf conscience', and I had received some information from Voldemort", he stressed the Dark Lord's name and gladly realized that the Auror flinched at that, "then **you'd be the first to know. Until then, I'm afraid that you'll have to make your own investigations. I believe that's what you're paid for, isn't it?"**_

"Besides", Dumbledore could be heard from behind his desk, "Remus is one of the teachers here at the castle and one of the few people into whom I lay absolute trust. If you have a problem with that or see the need to comment on his condition again, I'm afraid that I have to ask you to leave the castle.

Now, if we could please return to the matter at hand."

Dumbledore gave Remus a short smile, but the other man didn't really notice. He was still occupied with hindering Sirius form hexing the Auror on the spot. Wielding shot Remus an apologetic glance which was returned with a short smile.

"So you want to say that you don't have any explanations either."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm afraid we don't. If he wanted to use the werewolves against Hogwarts, then yesterday night would have been the perfect opportunity. There's so much time to be prepared until the next full moon, risking that doesn't sound like Voldemort at all. The only explanation I got is that he won't use the werewolves against Hogwarts, and then an attack is possible every day."

Remus nodded slowly and tried to process the new pieces of information. Finally, he looked up.

"Then it would be best to leave all additional wards in place and to keep up the evacuation plans. There's hardly more we can do about it."

Dumbledore nodded.

"That is the conclusion we came to, yes."

Snape had been listening to the conversation in silence, though it had been hard for him to hide his obvious amusement. First about Remus' little discomfort but later about the werewolf's anger towards the Auror. He knew exactly that it was a very stupid idea to insult him because of what he was, especially this close to the full moon and with Dumbledore and Black around. But now he thought it would be wise to keep rational about the future dealing with the situation.

"Headmaster, what about the students that were sent home?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Ah yes. I'll have owls sent out to them this morning. I think it would be wise to call them back this weekend, so that school can resume on Monday. We will let the parents know about the additional security means in the castle and that it's necessary for the children's education to return here. I think we can provide a somewhat safe castle for them."

The teachers and Wielding nodded in agreement and rose. The Aurors had already left the room while Dumbledore once more called for the attention of the Minister.

"Hermes?"

Wielding turned around and gave Dumbledore a questioning look.

"Yes Albus?"

"How many Auror units could you provide us with in case we get attacked?"

Wielding sat back and thought for a moment. Finally, he looked up.

"At the moment all Auror units are on constant alert. If anything happens, I can provide you with three to five units immediately, then depending on whether there are any other attacks, another five within the next twenty minutes. If there are no further attacks, I could send up to twenty units within half an hour."  
Dumbledore calculated for a moment.

"That means sixty to hundred Aurors immediately, another hundred within twenty minutes and four hundred maximum."

"In case that no other attacks happen the same night, yes."

Hermes nodded. Dumbledore thought for a moment, then smiled at the Minister.

"I hope it won't be necessary, but thank you nevertheless, Hermes. I just hope that not all Aurors have such an attitude problem like Mr. Waylans."

Wielding shook his head.

"Auror Waylans will have to overcome his attitude problem if he doesn't want to scrub the toilets in the Auror education centre for the next year, I'll make sure about that. Good bye Albus."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Good bye, Hermes."

Both men nodded at each other and Hermes turned towards the door. On his way out, he stopped in front of Remus and smiled at him. Both men knew each other form one or two random meetings during the last couple of weeks, but not any closer. Not close enough that some basic issues were cleared between them, Wielding decided.

"Mr. Lupin, I am sorry about Mr. Waylan's behaviour and I apologize for it. It's embarrassing to admit this, but I'm afraid that it will take a lot more time to get all the prejudice out of our Ministry."  
Remus shook his head and returned the smile.

"You're not responsible for your Auror's attitude. And believe me, I'm used to hear worse."

"The fact that it is like that doesn't mean that it should be like it is. Until next time, Mr. Lupin. Good bye Madam Pomfrey, Sirius."

The nurse and Sirius nodded at the Minister and Hermes left the office. Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally. Now Remus, please lie back while I check on you. It's still astonishing how little you care about your own health, all of you."

She added the last part with a stern look at Sirius. Remus sighed and allowed Madam Pomfrey to check on him, though he knew very well that he was fine, probably only needed some hours of sleep. But he still strictly refused to let Sirius help him drink the tea.

"Sirius, I'm no invalid. I think I can manage to drink a cup of tea myself, thank you very much."

Sirius groaned something in response but handed the cup over to Remus, who by now managed to hold it steadily. Madam Pomfrey ended her check up after some minutes, declaring Remus healthy and only in the need of some rest. With a nod at the headmaster, she was gone again.

The three remaining men in the office looked at each other for some moments, before Remus broke the silence and asked what had been on his mind the entire morning.

"And what is the unofficial explanation for this?"

Dumbledore managed a weak smile and sat down in one of the recently vacated chairs.

"I'm afraid that it's very much like the official version of the story. I have no explanation for Voldemort's decision not to strike, only that he has planned something even more malicious than sending Dementors, werewolves and Death Eaters against the castle. And what that could be, I don't even want to imagine."

Sirius nodded.

"And as much effort we put into it, we've not been able to discover any trace of Death Eaters all over the country. They seem to be hiding, and they seem to be hiding very well. There's nothing the Ministry can do at the moment."

"So we're back to sit and wait, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid we are, Remus. I'm afraid we are."

All three men got lost in their thoughts for some more moments, until Sirius got up and declared that it was time for Remus to get to bed. For once, Remus didn't argue with his friend.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Valeria Salenin was upset. No, that was an understatement, she was furious. She just came back from a meeting with the master and his 'servant' Wormtail. Until then, she had not met him, had only heard stories that despite the fact that he had brought Voldemort back to England and nursed him up, he was a coward and a hypocrite, but she had refused to believe that Voldemort would allow somebody like that to work so close to him.

She had been wrong.

Valeria could not believe why her master allowed this man to occupy the place at his side, a place she herself felt predestined to take. Sure, the Dark Lord used Wormtail as a mean to let his anger out on, but nevertheless he was always present. And now this man should work together with her forces, because 'he knew a thing or two about the topic from his time at school'. Ha! Had it not been such a sad situation, Valeria would have laughed out loud. If anybody knew something about her forces, then it was her and the guards. After all, she had been the one to brew the potion and the guards had – well, guarded the forced. Of what use could that balding, fat man that currently struggled to keep up with her pace in order not to get lost in the dungeon system, be of any use for her? She really didn't envy the guard she had chosen as his partner.

Valeria came to a halt in front of the door that was the entry to the guards quarters. She opened the door and waited outside until the guards came out. They didn't lose much time to do so, knowing fully well that nothing was worth provoking the mistress' anger. So the eleven guards lined up along the wall and watched her with dull eyes. Not a sound disturbed the tense silence in the corridor except from Wormtail's panting beside her. She tried to ignore it, even though her wand hand itched to do some Cruciatus. But this had to wait for later, the master didn't like it if his plans were carried out with delay.

"We move tonight!"

Valeria bellowed. Wormtail flinched at the loud, echoing sound her voice produced in the corridor.

"Our master has told me that our plans will finally be carried out tonight. You know the procedure, I hope everybody remembers his role. You will pair up in twos, male with female. Each group will take one stable, everything is prepared for the group apparition. I'd advice you not to lose a single one of your charges, otherwise the consequences will be dire. Do not remove the wards and magical bonds until further notice. Now leave for your stables and wait for my signal to apparate."

The ten guards bowed and immediately hurried off to prepare for their tasks. They didn't show any sign of excitement, but what was to expect from people in their positions? It was hardly possible that all of them would survive that night, and excitement only resulted in mistakes. And mistakes were something Valeria Salenin didn't tolerate.

Valeria turned towards Wormtail and the remaining guard. 

"Wormtail, this man is your partner for tonight. The Lord told me that he already informed you about the arrangement. He's there to watch your back and to remove every obstacle that could stand in your way. You're expected to work together, so don't leave each other's sight. That's all, I expect you in front of the Manor in half an hour, we'll apparate together. The guard knows the way out."  
Without as much as a nod, Valeria turned around and walked into a passage Wormtail had not realized it was there. He turned towards the guard.

"So, you're the one I'm teaming up with tonight."  
The guard nodded and started walking down the corridor. Knowing that he would be lost in this maze without the other, Wormtail walked next to him. 

"Not very talkative, are we?"

The guard looked at him, never slowing his pace, then returned to staring ahead and shook his head.

"Talking just diverts from the task at hand."

He finally said. His voice was hoarse, as if he had not used his vocal chords in quite some time. Wormtail nodded.

"Yeah, you're right about that. I just want this to get started, I know that Dumbledore isn't prepared for such a strike, especially not now. And believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I knew him quite well when I was at school, and during that time I got a very good insight into what we will play with tonight. It somehow was my idea, you know? And the Dark Lord relies on my judgement in that matter. If we and our army strike successfully tonight, he'll reward me. I'm the key person in this attack."

The guard didn't really listen to Wormtail's ramblings. He was not interested in what the man had to say, he had his orders from Valeria and he would carry them out. And from everything that the small conscious part of his mind knew, the man was not telling the truth about himself and his role. Not that he cared. He had to watch Wormtail, kill everybody that got in his way and hinder Wormtail from doing something stupid himself. Besides that, he didn't care.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Walden McNair was not a very happy man. Everybody who knew him would have confirmed that immediately. 

But not only did he refuse to be a happy man in general, because he thought that happy people just tried to cover up their faults and insecurities, right now he refused to be happy because it would have driven him mad. Literally.

During the last couple of weeks, Walden McNair had turned from an involuntarily unhappy man a voluntary unhappy man, and that was because he was chief guard in an old Manor with the dungeons full of Dementors. How anybody could stand the presence of those creatures would for ever remain a riddle to him. The first weeks had already been hard, though the Dementors had agreed to leave the guards alone, but during the last couple of days they had become restless. They were starved, they needed human emotions to feed from, and finally McNair had agreed to capture a group of homeless muggles to feed to the Dementors. The danger that the creatures could attack his guards had become too big, and finally the Dark Lord had given his agreement to that action.

But McNair got the feeling that this recent human prey had only upset the Dementors even more. He sighed. At least it would be over that night. He only had to stand their presence a couple of hours longer, and in the end the reward for his faithfulness would pay off the last weeks.

He had just apparated back from a meeting with the Dark Lord and had received his instructions. The last step had finally come, and though it was the most dangerous step, there was no turning back now. The Dementors had agreed to restrain from attacking the Death Eaters that apparated them to their destination, but only after the Dark Lord himself had spoken to them. McNair just hoped that they would stick to their promise. He didn't trust them, but what other choice did he have in that matter?

He entered the main room of the Manor in which all of his Death Eaters were already waiting for him. They were a small unit, only ten people, but that was enough for what they were supposed to do.

McNair nodded at them in greeting.

"The Lord has told me that we move tonight. In five hours, we'll apparate the Dementors to the destination we talked about, it's hidden in the Forbidden Forest. There we meet with Valeria Salenin and her famous secret army. We'll receive further instructions there. I expect everything to go as planned, I don't intend to stand in for any of your failures. That's it, we meet in four and a half hours back here again."

With another nod, Walden McNair had left the room. He headed back into his private quarters to ponder once again on the prize of unhappiness.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Three days had passed since the full moon night, and the tension in the castle had not lifted, not even a little. The students that had gone home had arrived back at the castle on Sunday morning, and every morning and evening, Dumbledore reminded the students about the security precautions and emergency plans. It was obvious that the insecurity which Voldemort's actions (or the lack of actions) had only increased, each teacher's face reflected it. 

Lessons would start again tomorrow, at least this proposed some kind of distraction from the fact that nobody in the castle was sure about what would happen next.

Because the students were very reluctant to walk alone around the castle, mealtimes were very crowded because nearly all the students came in large groups into the Great Hall. On a normal Sunday, most students turned up some time after ten o' clock, some students skipped breakfast completely and turned up for an early lunch at twelve or sneaked into the kitchens between the ordinary mealtimes. This morning however, the entire student's body had eaten breakfast between ten and eleven, lunch between one and two in the afternoon, and right now at half past six most students had already finished their dinner and were back on their way into the common rooms. Only some very daring students had announced that they wanted to check on the library before retiring, to prepare for the start of lessons. That was something Hermione had been talking about the entire evening.

She, Ron and Harry were amongst the few Gryffindors that were still in the Great Hall having dinner. Other than them, only some Ravenclaws and Slytherins were there, as well as Snape and McGonagall.

"I really have to go to the library later on, I have to catch up in Charms and Transfiguration."

Ron only rolled his eyes.

"Really Hermione, what on earth do you have to catch upon to? Lessons have been cancelled for nearly the entire week, nobody has done as much as open a book during that time. Not to mention that you are already on top of every class."

"And that's where I want to stay, but I can't if I'm not prepared for the lessons. Really Ron, if you and Harry would just pay a little more attention to your studies, then I'd be more at ease."

Harry laughed and raised his hands in defeat.

"No Hermione, leave me out of it. You know that I'm hopeless, so don't try to change me. It's far too late for that."

Hermione shook her head and muttered something about it never being to late to start a reasonable attitude, when Ron's and Harry's attention was distracted. Turning around, she saw Remus come into the Great Hall and walk towards the teacher's table to grab some dinner.

When he arrived there and was about to take the seat next to Snape, she already wanted to look away, but then something caught her eye. Remus stumbled and nearly fell over, as if he had been hit by something. Only his grip on the back of Snape's chair held him upright.

Both men started talking, but they were too far away for the teens to hear.

With a curious gaze, Hermione turned around.

"Now, what was that?"

Harry and Ron shrugged their shoulders. 

"I don't know", Harry said, "but I don't think that Remus stumbled."

On the teacher's table, Snape gave Remus an equally puzzled stare. 

"Lupin, are you alright?"

Remus managed a small grin, then shook his head to get rid of the dizziness and sat down.

"Did you poison my Wolfsbane, Severus?"

Snape laughed harshly and shook his head.

"If I wanted to poison you Lupin, I'd want you to know that you were poisoned. I wouldn't brew something that took effects days later. So, what's up with you, maybe you should go and see Madam Pomfrey."

Remus shook his head.

"No, I don't think that it's something that Poppy could do anything about it. I just felt dizzy, just as if…I don't know, it's hard to describe. It felt as if the wolf was pulling, as if it wanted to get out. Not unlike before a transformation, only stronger and differently."

Snape grimaced in disgust and moved away from Remus.

"If you're about to transform now, out of what reason ever, you'd better get away from me!"  
Remus smirked.

"I won't transform Severus, don't worry. That would feel different."

This statement didn't help to calm Severus down, not in the least, but nevertheless he continued eating. Minerva only shot a curious glance at her colleagues. 

The moment Remus was about to put some food onto the plates, the lights in the Great Hall suddenly began to flutter and the temperature seemed to sink down. The spoon fell from Remus' hand, but nobody paid any attention to the sound of breaking china. The three teachers immediately sprang to their feet and drew their wands while some of the students started to scream. The dizziness in Remus' head returned and this time he clearly felt the wolf pulling to get out. He knew that it was impossible for him to transform now, just as well as the wolf was aware of that fact. But what could provoke his canine self to act like it did now? Remus somehow felt that he should know the answer, but right now he couldn't find it. 

Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice could be heard, magically amplified so that he could be heard everywhere in the castle.

"The Students are to go to the nearest meeting point immediately. Don't panic, but walk straight to the nearest meeting point. The teachers there will tell you the further proceedings and apparate you out of the castle as soon as the danger draws nearer. Just follow their instructions and none of you will be in danger. The remaining teachers meet me in the Great Hall immediately."

Remus sighed and wished he knew what was going on outside, on the castle grounds. What attacked them, and why did Voldemort chose to attack right now?

He didn't have time to ponder on these thoughts, anyway. After making sure that the Gryffindors remained calm, he left Harry, Ron and Hermione at the table and guided the rest of them over to where Snape had assembled the few Slytherins. McGonagall left the Great Hall and made her way to the next fireplace to floo to the Ministry immediately. Remus turned towards the Hufflepuffs, and with the calmest of voices told them that they weren't in immediate danger. He left them on one side of the Great Hall together with the remaining students in the Hands of Irma Sprout who had just come into the Hall. She would be the one to apparate the students out from here.

Only moments later, the doors flung open again, and Dumbledore entered, followed by a red-faced Sirius and Madam Pomfrey. Behind the nurse, infirmary supplies were floating into the Great Hall and automatically beginning to line themselves up. With a couple of wand-waves, the nurse changed the Great Hall into a temporary hospital while Madam Sprout led the children into the ante-chamber for the apparition.

When Sirius saw that his charges were safely in the Great Hall and he didn't have to fetch them in Gryffindor Tower, he left the Great Hall once again. Harry inwardly smiled. So much about 'stick to Sirius, no matter what happens'.

Dumbledore had pulled out the Marauder's Map and checked it carefully. A short smile showed at the corners of his lips, then he once more pointed his wand at his throat and announced:

"All students have reached the meeting points. The teachers can start the apparition in five minutes, the anti apparition ward will be down for two minutes. That should be enough to apparate the students into safety and return to the castle. After this, the teachers are to report in the Great Hall."

Hermione, Ron and Harry were surprised at how calm the teachers remained. Madam Pomfrey kept on setting up beds and tables with supplies, Dumbledore checked on the Marauder's Map that nobody apparated into the castle while the wards were down, Snape, Remus and McGonagall, who had just returned, stood next to him and talked in low voices. 

After a couple of minutes, Dumbledore sighed in relief. Obviously, the students had been apparated out safely and the wards were back in place. One after another, the teachers came into the Great Hall and made their way up towards Dumbledore, ignoring the three Gryffindors completely. Even Hagrid didn't as much as nod into their direction.

All the while, the lights had continued to flutter and the room had become increasingly colder. Everybody in the room knew what that meant, and they were prepared for Dementors. Minerva had been assured that at least six Auror units would arrive on the edge of the castle ground immediately, and more were to follow.

What nobody was prepared for however, was the news Sirius brought. 

After only a couple of minutes, that seemed like hours to Harry and his friends, he came back into the Great Hall. His face was white like a tablecloth and his jaw was set determinedly. He immediately went over towards Dumbledore, and Harry could see that his hands were clenched into fists at his side. Whatever Sirius had to tell Dumbledore, it surely wasn't very pleasant.

Dumbledore and Remus looked up when Sirius reached the teacher's table, Remus immediately noticed his friend's distress. After so many years, he could read Sirius body language with ease.

"What is it, Sirius?"

Sirius sighed deeply.

"I've just taken a look outside. The wards seem to be intact until now, and there are Dementors coming out of the Forbidden Forest. I guess you all already knew as much. But there's something more."

Remus realized that his hands were damp with sweat and his heart was beating at least twice as fast as normal. What could possibly upset Sirius like that?

"What else, Sirius?"

Sirius locked his gaze with Remus'.

"Werewolves."

_Now, that's what I call a cliffhanger. Wow, this chapter was a close call, I didn't think I'd be able to post today. I had to stay at home longer than was planned, and so I had to start typing this on my brother's computer. And – can you imagine it – he didn't have any disc to save that on, and he doesn't have a CD burner either, so I had to print it out and type it again when I came to my place. So the entire thing from the beginning to the talk in Dumbledore's office I typed twice! I started writing this chapter this afternoon at one, and now it's one at night! Twelve hours of typing, dangerously neglecting my work for university, now if that's not worth a bunch of reviews I don't know what is!_

_Maybe I won't be able to post for the next ten days or so, university really keeps me busy right now. But it should be over after the 19th, and the I'll only be away over Christmas, so I'll also be able to post between the years and before Christmas._

_Until then, hope you enjoyed!  
There's action to come in the next chapters, so beware! It won't be pretty!_

_And okay, that chapter isn't as short as I guessed it would become when I wrote the introduction! But I don't think you'll complain about that._


	11. When Things Get Tough

_Okay folks, here goes chapter 11!_

_It's shorter than the average chapter up to now, but that's what expects you for the chapters till the end. If I would stick to my former chapter length, there would be no cliffhangers at all, and that's something we all don't want now, is it?_

_Onto another sad note:_

_University keeps me quite busy until next Thursday, and on Saturday I'll leave home for Christmas, so I don't know if there will be another post before Christmas. I'll return to a PC with Internet on 27th, and depending on whether I'll be able to go on writing over the holiday, there will be another chapter before the end of the year. But as soon as next year starts again, there will be regular posts and the story should be finished until mid-January I guess._

_That's been my sad news, but nevertheless a very, very **Happy ******__Holiday****__ to each and every one of you! Enjoy Christmas!___

_I have to admit that none of you has had ideas about the role of Valeria's guards. Knowing me, you should have guessed that there is something more to them that meets the eye *g*. Think again, you still got time before I solve that particular mystery. Gold stars to everybody who finds the right clues!_

_A/N for the week (as usual in order of appearance):_

_Narcoleptic__: Oh, I didn't want you to freak out because of the cliffhanger, really. But I couldn't help but grin, because that's what a cliffhanger is there for, isn't it? Remus' wolf is a dark creature per se, but that's not Remus' problem right now. Normally, he has Moony under control, but right now it's pulling on him. Moony senses the other werewolves and wants to get out, but he knows he can't transform right now. That's confusing both him and Remus a little and will continue to have an effect on Remus during the attack. But I won't say anything more. Don't worry about the quality of your review, **I know what insomnia can do to a person (or do you think I write my chapters during day?)**_

_sarahpeach__: No, Remus won't transform. It's because he has not undergone the same treatment as the other werewolves have. Remember what Valeria talked about during the last chapters? And guess what the guards were there for. Thanks again for your warm words about my English, it always makes me happy that I don't make people cringe about it._

_Seraphim__: Thank you, half of the university work is done, so you'll get the post before nineteenth. But read the sad news above, I hope it won't disturb your sleep over Chrismas._

_darkphoenix__: No, Harry won't have his moment of realization for a while, I'm afraid. But that's got its reasons…_

_solarphoenix__: I don't watch Buffy, so I don't know about that episode, but it will be a little different for Remus. See the Explanation I gave Narcoleptic. But I've wondered about the werewolves in the __Forbidden__Forest__ as well, because normally they would only be werewolves during one night, wouldn't they? But JKR lets it sound as if they were the whole time. If anybody got an answer for that, I'd be glad to know._

_evil__ spapple pie: Now, that was a long review. Thank you! Does Harry really roll his eyes that often? I didn't realize, but maybe that's because I don't know that many ways to express being unnerved in English. Believe me, you don't want to have such a cold weather like we have here right now. It's still freezing!_

_Your estimation of Moony's/Remus' problem is perfect, I couldn't have put it better. A gold star to you!_

_But you were somewhat wrong about Valeria's forces: They are the werewolves, not some super-soldier Death Eaters. That's all about the secret, there really is nothing more behind it._

_Eva__: Yepp. Cliffie. Bad, bad cliffie. But not the worst there will be (Kedavra…Oh, erm, gotta go!)_

_Schwester__ Aurelia: Now, that's worth another mail I think!_

_Bobbi__: Sorry, I can type with all ten fingers, but I'm not that fast! I still have to think while writing, especially since English isn't my first language at all. But I enjoy being evil, you're right about that. Remus will stay human, don't be afraid. And the rat will get some – smacking. I think. He'll meet some old friends…_

_naughtynat__: Sirius is so worked up about the werewolves because it's not full moon and he doesn't understand why they are there._

_Leap__ of fate: Still more Sirius to come, he's my most favourite character after all. So I couldn't do without him. *g* or could I?_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Well, I don't know how to answer that one, but thank you nevertheless. I always enjoy your reviews!_

_Ms__. Issues: I don't think that being the next Professor Trelawney is something to be proud of, really not! As far as the werewolves are concerned: think back to what Valeria says about her forces in the earlier chapters. I think the word 'potion' appears somewhat frequently there._

_animalcrazy__ 10102: I do my very best, here you go!_

_Maryanne__: Good luck with the term papers! Mine aren't due till spring, so I still have time. But I know what you're in for now, so all my best wishes. As for the werewolves: look above in the explanations. It's Valeria's doing._

_Bookworm2000__: Yepp, werewolves aren't the best that could have happened to them. But go on reading, then you'll find out!_

__

_Stormy1x2__: Harry definitely deserves a spanking, you're right about that. But now he's got something else to do. He'll realize his behaviour later, but who knows whether Sirius then is still there so that they can have The Talk (with capital letters)? Voldie is involved in Harry's state of mind, but as to the how, you'll have to wait and see. Glad it was I who was the first to make you fume over a fictional character *g*._

_schnoogle__ reviewer: Oh, there will be fluff in this chapter. Remember Ginny's betting system from the beginning of the story? *g* But nobody will die now, I only said that there will be a character death. And there will be a Kedavra-cliffhanger. That's all I'm saying now!_

_Lisette__: I can't thank you enough! It's good to hear that you liked TLM (and that you listened to my advice and read it before this story, otherwise the Remus death thing would have been totally spoiled…). I know about my word usage mistakes, so if you find some more, please tell me about them. I want to use every opportunity to improve my English. Thank you for your warm words, but I have to admit that most of my Slang and contraction usages are gained from reading fics by native speakers. And you have my highest respect for majoring in French, I learned that language for 7 (!) years at school, but would not be able to have a real conversation in it. So – merci beaucoup et je presente le nouveaux chapitre._

_I just hope that at least this was partly correct *g* (Okay, and now I stop before I start showing off with something I'm not really good in…)_

_Here you go with chapter 11!_

_Enjoy!_

_One last annotation before I leave you with the chapter:_

_When I describe the battle scenes, then I'll shift the Point of View very often. So it's possible that I'll describe part A, then shift POV in part B but describe something that happened before part A. Got that? Oh, I'm awfully bad at this._

_It can happen that I don't tell the events in their straight chronological order, but you'll always get to know (at least get hinted at) where you are and what has already happened. And if you're confused then tell me, so that I can explain and change._

_For example the beginning of this chapter takes place before the attack started._

_And now enough of this.___

**When Things Get Tough**

Sometime earlier, outside of the castle.

Valeria Salenin apparated to a spot deep within the Forbidden Forest, that annoying Rat Wormtail and the guard he teamed up with by her side. The remaining guards and their charges would apparate to a spot not that far away, but closer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Letting the werewolves lose too close to the Death Eaters and Dementors would be a ridiculously bad idea, the starved wolves would either attack the Death Eaters or get scared away by the Dementors. And either way it would be a pity, because the wolves were Valeria's little surprise for the Ministry Aurors that would surely be swarming the castle grounds as soon as Dumbledore noticed the presence of the Dementors.

Next to the Potions mistress, Wormtail was still rambling about his importance in the plan. Obviously he mistook the silence of the guard next to him as interest and now rambled on an on about how much of all this had been his idea. If Valeria still had a place in her heart left to pity somebody, her condolences would have gone out to the guard, but pity wasn't something Valeria Salenin wasted her time with.

She was just about to turn around and make Wormtail feel her growing wrath against him by a little Crucio, when a low popping sound next to her announced the arrival of Walden McNair.

Valeria let her left hand, which had already been grabbing for her wand, sink to her side again and turned around. McNair gave her a short bow as a greeting and acknowledgement of her position as one of Voldemort's closest allies, which she returned with a short nod of her head.

"Mistress Salenin."

"McNair. I guess now that you've arrived here, the Dementors are on their way?"

McNair nodded.

"Yes, they make their way towards the castle as we speak. Of course the wards are still in place, but Dumbledore will surely alert the Ministry as soon as he realizes the presence of the Dementors. And as soon as the Aurors come here, it is time for your little surprise, whatever it might be."

Inwardly, Valeria smiled. It was obvious that the Lord had indeed kept the werewolves a well guarded secret, a secret the man next to her struggled to know. 

With a slight cock of her head, Valeria managed something close to a smile and looked intensely at McNair. The Death Eater shuddered and couldn't stand her gaze. He had not met Valeria Salenin very often, but those few encounters had taught him one thing: That woman was dangerous and it was better as well as healthier not to get on her bad side. If that was possible, that is.

"You'd like to know the little secret that the Dark Lord and I prepared, wouldn't you?"

McNair shifted uncomfortably around. 

"I guess the Dark Lord has his reasons to keep it secret. I admit that I'd like to know, but if it's not my place to know it, then I will have to accept that."

Valeria nodded slowly. The man in front of her was afraid, she could nearly smell it. Obviously her reputation had spread around, just like she had always wanted it.

"Well, it won't be a secret for much longer, so I don't think any harm will be done if I tell you. As soon as the castle grounds are swarming with Aurors, we'll let a rather large group of werewolves on the lose. That way, the Death Eaters will only have to deal with what remains of the Ministry forces once the wolves have finished them off."

McNair looked thunderstruck. Whatever he had expected, it definitely had not been this.

"Werewolves? But…how?"

Valeria laughed harshly.

"Potions, my dear McNair, is a very resourceful branch of magic if it is done with care and attention. There is the Wolfsbane to ban the danger within the wolf during the full moon, and with some careful research it is possible to invert that process. All I've done was banning the human within the wolf, and I guess that is a move Dumbledore didn't suspect."

McNair nodded thoughtful, not daring to say anything as a reply. Not that he could have thought of something anyway. Valeria again turned her attention towards McNair.

"The Death Eaters are assembled?"

McNair nodded.

"Yes. After my men apparated the Dementors here we met up with the rest of our forces. They're not far away from here, waiting for the signal to strike. The Lord has not arrived yet?"

Valeria shook her head.

"He will come in his own time. He has a plan."

McNair bowed deeply.

"I didn't doubt that."

With this, he withdrew again into the woods to join the forces of Death Eaters that were lingering there. Valeria returned her attention to Wormtail, who was still chatting idly at an unresponsive guard. She shook her head. How the Master could have chosen him for such an important issue was out of her knowledge, but if he was sure about it, she'd comply.

"Wormtail!"

He turned around immediately and stared at Valeria from watery, pale eyes.

"Y-Yes?"

"It's about time. The wards will be down any minute, Dumbledore will surely apparate the students out as soon as possible. You know what you have to do?"

Wormtail nodded weakly.

"Yes, o-of course."

Valeria stared into those watery eyes, eyes that nearly had no colour at all. Maybe they were a light grey, Valeria thought.

"Just don't forget it, or the Lord won't be too pleased with you. That is, if I leave enough of you for him to show his displeasure on."

Wormtail immediately started shaking.

"I remember, o-of course. I stay out of b-battle and hidden, only i-if Sirius or R-Remus show up I'll d-distract them."

Valeria nodded.

"Alright. Just don't forget it. And don't leave your partner's side, nobody is to get into this alone. Understood?"

Wormtail nodded and the guard next to him did the same, obediently. Then the two set off towards the edge of the Forest. Valeria wasn't sure whether Wormtail would be able to remember anything he had been told if he got under pressure. 

Sure, all those years ago he might have been the ideal ally for her master, after all he was the one who could hand over one of Voldemort's most feared adversaries. And then he had proven himself helpful in Voldemort's rise to power again. But times had changed.

All that remained was the fact that Wormtail was weak, he could not be trusted with anything in Valeria's eyes. He was the weakest link in their operation and Valeria would not want to see Voldemort's wrath should he once more be the reason for failure. Well, she had taken preparations for that case, she only hoped that there would be no need to use them.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

McNair and the other assembled Death Eaters watched from some distance as the Dementors emerged from the Forbidden Forest onto the castle grounds. Dumbledore must have realized their presence by now, everybody in the castle must have. There was no way that the presence of over two hundred Dementors could not be realized, even if they were hidden in the Forbidden Forest. 

McNair stepped from one foot to the other and rubbed his hands in order to get some warmth back into them. It was already a freezing cold night, and with all those Dementors the temperature seemed to have dropped some more. During the last week McNair had tried to find ways to block out the Dementors, but he had had to realize that this was not possible. More than once he had wondered if that was what Azkaban must be like, a place where you never got warm inside but where your deepest fears kept haunting you.

McNair was glad that it would all be over by morning, at least that was what he hoped would happen.

The plan was to set the Dementors loose, wait for Dumbledore to evacuate the castle if he wanted, then take down the Aurors that would arrive soon, get into the castle and get Dumbledore and everybody who had stayed there. If that old fool had decided not to get the students out, then it wasn't McNair's problem.

It will all be over in a few hours, he kept telling himself, it will all be over then.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Minerva McGonagall immediately knew what was happening when the lights in the Great Hall began to flutter and the temperature sank. Dementors. She hated those creatures with a passion, and alone the thought that an army of Dementors was approaching the castle made her hurry towards the next fireplace. Truly, the wards around the castle were strong, but they could only hold off the Dementors for a certain amount of time. And it would be foolish to think that the Dark Lord had nothing else in store for his attack.

McGonagall reached the fireplace in the antechamber, grabbed a pouch with floo powder from her pocket and started a fire. Losing no time, she tossed it into the flames, uttered a password that enabled her to floo from the castle, and stepped into the flames.

"Ministry of Magic, Arthur Weasley's office!"

And with that, she was gone.

McGonagall fell out of a fireplace in front of a very surprised Arthur Weasley. Grasping the situation immediately, Arthur helped her to her feet again and pointed his wand to the fireplace.

"Hermes, I need to speak to you. It's urgent."

McGonagall still straightened her robes when the face of  the Minister of Magic appeared in the fireplace.

"Arthur, what is wrong?"

His eyes fell on the Transfiguration Professor.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall. It has started."

A statement, not a question. Nevertheless, McGonagall nodded.

"Yes. Dementors are approaching the castle, and if I am to judge it, the Dark Lord has sent all of them. They disturbed the magic within the castle so heavily, their number has to be large."

Wielding nodded, then turned away and talked to somebody in the background. While he was not looking at them, McGonagall realized that her hands were shaking. One look at Arthur's face showed her that he was at least as scared as she herself.

Wielding turned around again and looked at the two wizards.

"I've just talked to Moody, luckily he's been in my office when you called. We can send six units immediately. Alastor will go and evaluate the situation, and if it really is as bad as you estimate it, then we'll send more reinforcements. In case there are no other attacks, that is. 

Albus will evacuate the castle?"

McGonagall nodded.

"The students are already assembling. He's planning to take the wards down for two minutes and the teachers will apparate them to St. Wendelin's Wizard Orphanage in Manchester. They got the capacity to host such a large number of students and Albus doesn't think that Death Eaters would attack there. I think they'll be gone within the next ten minutes."

Again, Wielding nodded.

"Good. The Aurors should have apparated to Hogsmeade by now, they should reach Hogwarts within the next minutes. The wards around the castle are steady?"

"As far as I know, yes. The anti-apparition ward will be down for a short period of time, but the other wards should provide enough protection at least until the students are taken out. Madam Pomfrey has established and emergency hospital for the Aurors in the Great Hall, so we will have to create a hole in the wards to let the wounded get into the castle. But it will be guarded. We can only hope that the wards remain steady for as long as possible."

"Good. Professor McGonagall, thank you for informing us immediately. Tell Albus that we'll be in touch, he can reach me in my office if needed. I'll send you as many reinforcements as can be spared."

"Thank you Hermes."

Wielding's head disappeared and McGonagall let out a breath she had not known she'd been holding. She turned to Arthur once more.

"I'll return now, I might be needed."

Arthur nodded.

"Yes. Minerva, tell me the truth. Ron won't leave the castle if Harry doesn't, will he?"

McGonagall sighed.

"I'm afraid he won't. But don't worry, he won't leave the Great Hall during the attack, and as soon as anybody who should not be there enters the castle, he and Hermione will floo out. But we thought that this was better than having those two hiding in the castle. They'd only get into trouble on their own, but now we keep an eye on them. They are supposed to help Poppy."

Arthur nodded.

"I can't say I like it, but I think this solution really is the better one. Ron is so devoted to Harry, he might do something stupid if Harry is in danger. Especially now, with Charlie missing, he's not quite himself."

"We'll have an eye on him. I'll take my leave now. Good bye Arthur."

"Good bye Minerva. And good luck."

She nodded at Arthur, then McGonagall stepped back into the fireplace, uttered the password once more and left.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Voldemort stood on a small clearing somewhere deep in the Forbidden Forest and smiled.

He didn't need to see what was going on outside of the Forest, he knew that everything went just as they had planned. He would feel it if something went wrong.

Some moments ago, the anti-apparition field had been set back into place. So that muggle loving fool had taken the students out of the castle. Voldemort had guessed as much. He didn't care about the students, not at all. Tonight it was about him and Dumbledore. Oh, and Harry Potter of course. 

When dawn would break in some hours, there would be nothing left of the old wizard, The-Boy-Who-Lived and also of the castle that had been a fortress for the 'Light Side' for so many years. After that, it would be easy enough to take over. With Dumbledore gone, the Ministry would be disorganized enough, there would be nobody matching his power and intellect anymore, nobody to foresee Voldemort's plans. 

And with the death of Harry Potter, the last hopes of the wizarding world that Voldemort could finally be defeated would die as well.

Yes, Voldemort decided, this was reason enough to smile.

Of course he could have apparated into the castle while the wards were down, but that would have been too much of a risk. Voldemort didn't want to face Dumbledore and Potter within the castle walls, he liked to be the one to dictate time and place of a meeting. And he'd do anything to avoid going into the castle where Dumbledore might have more traps set than he knew about. No, he'd lure them out. First Potter and then the old fool that called himself headmaster. 

Voldemort turned and sent a signal to Valeria Salenin to let the werewolves lose. The Aurors had arrived. It was time.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Snape stared at Sirius in open disbelief while Dumbledore seemed to contemplate the impact of what he had just heard. McGonagall just stared wide-eyed. Now that was something unexpected. Well, not for Remus. He knew that it was true.

Snape was the first to break the silence.

"Black don't be daft. There can't be werewolves on the castle grounds, it's not full moon. I thought that especially you knew that."

Sirius just shook his head.

"I know what I saw outside. The Aurors have arrived and they attempted to drive the Dementors back, and from the Forbidden Forest suddenly werewolves emerged. I know what a werewolf looks like, I know that it's true."

Dumbledore turned towards Hagrid.

"Hagrid, how many werewolves live in the forest?"

Hagrid thought for a moment before he answered.

"Ten, maybe twelve."

Sirius shook his head.  
"There are more werewolves coming out of the Forest. Many more."

Snape made a sound of disapproval, but Dumbledore interrupted him.

"I would not say that it's impossible Severus. We still don't know what happened to the Romanian werewolves and what Voldemort has possibly done to them. I can't distinguish between Aurors and other beings on the map anymore, but I think we'll have to accept the fact that there are werewolves even if it seems impossible. What is important now is that the wards remain steady."

The rest of the teachers nodded, but Sirius dragged Remus into a corner of the room where they could not be overheard. He watched his friend with concern in his eyes.  
"Remus?"

Remus managed a weak smile.

"I know that it's true, Sirius. I can feel it. Moony's running amok right now because he can feel the other wolves. He tries to get out, he wants to run with his kin, but he can't understand why he's not able to."

"Do you think you'll transform?"

Slowly, Remus shook his head.

"No. No, I don't think so. Though the wolf is as strong as it usually only is before a transformation, it feels different. Whatever happened to the werewolves out there, it doesn't affect me as it does affect them."

Sirius put his hands on Remus' shoulders and tried to catch Remus' gaze.

"And what would happen if you were confronted with one of the wolves out there?"

Remus tried to evade Sirius' gaze, but he simply couldn't.

"I don't know Sirius. It's a control issue. As long as I can keep the wolf under control there's nothing wrong."

Sirius didn't quite believe him.

"Can you keep it under control?"

"Yes."

The answer came far too quick for Sirius' liking.

"Remus?"

Remus sighed deeply.  
"I don't know Sirius. I wouldn't want to try and find out, to be honest. Normally on a full moon, I allow the wolf to take over because I know that there is no other choice. I've never tried to fight against it when it was so strong. That usually makes things only worse."

Sirius felt that Remus' shoulders sank down under his hands. Remus generally didn't like to admit defeat, and in a situation like this it was even worse for him, Sirius knew that.

"Just promise me one thing Remus. If you realize that it's too much for you, get somewhere safe and try to get yourself under control again. Don't leave the castle unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"

Slowly, Remus nodded again.

"Remus, look into my eyes."

Remus looked up and met Sirius' gaze.

"I promise, Sirius."

"Okay. Thank you."

Sirius let go off Remus' shoulders and both men turned back towards Dumbledore. By now, all the teachers had arrived back in the Great Hall. Everybody was relieved when they announced that all students had been accounted for and nobody had gotten lost on the way to Manchester. The wards were back in place and nobody had apparated in while the wards had been down.

While Harry, Ron and Hermione were still sitting on the far wall of the room waiting for somebody to tell them what was going on, Dumbledore informed Madam Pomfrey about the werewolves.

Finally, curiosity won and the three teens went over to hear what the headmaster was telling the nurse.

"Sir, what is happening here?"

Dumbledore turned towards Harry and smiled gently, not minding the interruption at all as it seemed.

"Well Harry, as you have realized the attack has begun. All students have been taken out. As far as we know, Dementors are approaching the castle and Ministry Aurors try to fight them back. But I think we've underestimated Voldemort a little, I'm afraid. It seems that he has managed to send a huge amount of werewolves against the castle."

Ron drew in a sharp breath of air while Hermione tried to find the logic in all this.

"But Professor, it's not full moon. It's impossible that there are werewolves outside of the Forbidden Forest in a night like this."

Dumbledore only smiled, slightly sad as it appeared to Harry.

"I'm afraid that those ruled don't apply tonight Miss Granger. I don't have an explanation for it either, but it's a fact we'll have to accept. We can take time to think about an explanation for it when this is over, don't you think? I was just informing Poppy about it, so that she can be prepared for what could be happening tonight. 

I don't have to stress again how important it is for the three of you to remain in the castle, do I?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione shook their heads immediately. There was really no need to remind them to stay away from Dementors and werewolves, none at all.

Madam Pomfrey had not really listened to what Dumbledore was telling the teens. She was looking through her supplies, making sure she had anything she might need that night. Now with those werewolves, it could happen that she had to take care of seriously injured wizards, that she had to treat severe blood loss.

"Cruoris Potion! I didn't bring nearly enough with me, I didn't expect the possibility of bleeding wounds to be so big. I need to fetch my entire storage of Cruoris Potion from the infirmary.  
But oh my, I still have to set up the beds and check the rest of the supplies, how am I to find the time for it?"

Madam Pomfrey had been talking to herself rather than to anybody else, but Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione had heard her.

"We could go and fetch it", Hermione volunteered.

Madam Pomfrey didn't look too pleased.

"I don't think that it is such a good idea for you to leave the Great Hall. It's too dangerous."

Just when Ron was about to protest, Dumbledore rose his hand.

"Poppy, I think it's not too risky to send them to the infirmary. The wards around the castle are stable, there's nobody in here that should not be. It would be good for them to have something to do. Hermione, Ron, why don't you to just run up to the infirmary and fetch the potion for Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to be convinced, but eventually she nodded.

"Okay. It's in the cupboard next to my office window, on the top shelf. There should be about twenty bottles of it, bring all of them down, will you? Thank you."

Hermione and Ron nodded and set off towards the door, Harry at their heels. Dumbledore however, held him back by the sleeve of his robe.

"No Harry, you're not going. Remember that I told you not to leave the side of at least one fully educated wizard? It could be possible that you are needed before the two of them return, so please stay here with Sirius and me."

Harry groaned but obediently stayed and helped Madam Pomfrey setting up the emergency infirmary. 

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

A man stepped out of the Forbidden Forest, two Death Eaters at his side. He seemed completely oblivious to the battle that was beginning to rage only a few yards away, his eyes were glued to the castle. The Death Eaters would prevent that he got engaged in fighting, and even if somebody noticed the two of them, he still had his means to remain unseen from people whom he didn't want to be seen by. 

He knew that he only had to wait, then his chance would come to set Voldemort's plans for tonight in motion. Once the opponents would leave the castle, they would be on hostile territory. And then they would be lost.

So he kept on staring at the castle, checking every window for signs of movement. He only needed somebody to see him, somebody who was separated from the others in the Great Hall.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Hermione and Ron made their way through the castle as fast as they could. Truth be told, both didn't like to be alone in the otherwise empty castle at all and wanted to return to the others as soon as possible. So they hardly talked on their way to the hospital and saved their breath for running.

Only when they arrived and made their way towards Madam Pomfrey's office, Ron broke the silence.

"Do you think it will really be that bad?"

Hermione sighed.

"I don't know Ron, I really don't know. I think that in case the wards go down there's still the possibility to apparate out, but that's not what worries me. Harry and Dumbledore will go and seek out You-Know-Who, that's what really worries me. I don't even want to think about what could happen to them."

Ron slowly nodded, then opened up the cupboard. Just as Madam Pomfrey had said, there were about twenty bottles of Cruoris Potion on the top shelf. He wanted to grab them and put them on a tray to levitate them into the Great Hall, but then a thought crossed his mind and he stopped in mid-movement. Hermione gave him a puzzled look.

"Ron, what's wrong? I want to get back to the Great Hall."

Ron nodded.

"I know. But there is something I want to tell you. I…I already wanted to tell you on Thursday, but I didn't have the guts."

Ron blushed crimson, a fact that made Hermione's hands sweat and her pulse beat faster. What was Ron talking about?

"I don't know what you mean."

Ron exhaled deeply, as if to summon all the courage he could manage.

"Hermione. Just in case that things go wrong tonight, I don't want to regret not having done this and I know that I would regret it if I didn't do it because there might not be the chance to do it when this is over or it might be different or not the right time, and it has never been the right time to do it and so I decided that now is as right as any time and…"

Hermione shook her head and put a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Ron, what's wrong? You're babbling, I don't understand what you want."

But instead of answering, Ron grabbed Hermione by the waist, pulled her towards himself and pressed his lips onto hers. It was an awkward kiss, because he had to bent down to bring his head on the same level as hers.

Hermione stiffened.

What was Ron doing? Well, he was kissing her, that was quite obvious. 

But why was Ron kissing her? A couple of explanations popped up in her head, each confusing her even more. It took some moments until Hermione decided that logic might not be the right way to approach everything, and that it didn't really matter why Ron was kissing her because all that was important was that he was actually kissing her.

Hermione allowed herself to relax into Ron's arms and the kiss and tightened her own hold around Ron's upper body.

When the two broke apart some moments later, both of their faces were flushed. For some moments, they just smiled at each other. Just as the silence became awkward, Ron managed to get control over his vocal chords again.

"I wanted to do that, just in case I don't get the chance to do that again."

Hermione smiled and blushed.  
"Well, I'm glad that you did it, because I wouldn't have found the courage for it. And now let's get those potions to Madam Pomfrey, shall we?"

Ron smiled and gave her another peck on the cheek before he turned towards the cupboard and began taking the bottles out. While he put them on the tray, he had to take care that he didn't let them fall down. His hands seemed to be shaking a little, though he didn't quite know why.

Hermione stood by his side and looked out of the window. Just as he had put the last bottle onto the tray, a cry from Hermione made him spin around.

"Mione, what's wrong?"

Hermione didn't answer but gestured out of the window. Ron's eyes followed to where she was pointing and he literally felt the blood freeze in his veins.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Luck was his lady tonight, the man decided. He didn't have to wait and watch for too long until the face of the girl appeared on a window. The infirmary, if he was right.

It was good that it was the girl, maybe the red-haired boy was even with her. They wouldn't waste time to inform somebody else of it, and this made things even more easy.

"Now!" the man hissed at the two Death Eaters next to him.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked once, then again, and looked back onto the grounds. But his eyes were not deceiving him.   
Harry was out there, how he had gotten there Ron didn't know, and he was held at wand point by two Death Eaters. There were no Ministry Aurors close by to help him, and he appeared to be disarmed. 

Then one of the Death Eaters hit Harry over the head, and they began dragging him off towards the Forbidden Forest.

Ron turned and looked at Hermione. Her face had become pale and her hands were shaking.

"Hermione?"

She looked at him with tear-clouded eyes.

"How did he get out there?"

Ron just shook his head.  
"I don't know. But I bet that the others don't know about it, otherwise they would tried to help him. We've got to follow them!"

"But Ron, shouldn't we inform Dumbledore? He has the map…"

Ron grabbed her shoulder.

"Hermione, they are taking him to the Forbidden Forest. As soon as he's in there, he won't show up on the map anymore! We don't have time to tell anybody about it, we have to help him. If we find out where they take him to, one of us can go back and inform the teachers."

Hermione reluctantly nodded and both ran out of the infirmary. Hermione was floating the tray with the potion behind her, at least trying to bring it close to the Great Hall.

They hurried down staircases and along corridors, oblivious to everything that was going on around them. Fortunately Hermione was levitating the tray, because it would have crashed to the ground had Ron been levitating it when he all of a sudden ran into a small figure and fell to the floor.

Groaning, Ron tried to get back to his feet, while a squeaky voice started apologizing over and over again.

"Me is so sorry Master Weasley, me didn't see Master Weasley there. Has Master Weasley hurt himself?"

Ron looked around in confusion, then his eyes settled on the figure of the house elf that had caused his fall.

"Dobby?"

"Yes Master Weasley. Dobby is sorry Sir, Dobby should have paid more attention…"

Ron just shook his head.

"Dobby, it doesn't matter. On the contrary, it's good that you're here. Could you take that tray to the Great Hall and give it to Madam Pomfrey? And then tell Professor Dumbledore that Harry is in danger. Death Eaters have captured him and drag him into the Forest. We try to follow them. Can you do that, Dobby?"

Dobby nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes sir, Dobby will do that. Anything to help Master Potter, Dobby will do."

And with this, he ran off towards the Great Hall with the tray floating securely behind him. Ron and Hermione glanced shortly at each other, then continued their chase out of the castle.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore were sitting on a small table in the Great Hall, discussing what to do next. So far, Voldemort had not shown himself and the Aurors seemed to be handling the situation as well as they could. Only few had been brought into the temporary infirmary so far, and Wielding had assured them that all Ministry capacities were on their way to Hogwarts as a support. 

Snape was leaning on the wall next to them and McGonagall was huddled together with the other teachers and Hagrid not far away from them. Harry was still occupied with helping Madam Pomfrey when the doors to the Great Hall opened and a house elf hurried in, a tray with bottles floating behind him.

He put the tray down next to Madam Pomfrey and when he looked up, he squeaked in surprise.

"Master POTTER!"

Harry just shook his head.

"Yes Dobby, it's me. What's wrong?"

The cry had drawn the attention of the other teachers, and Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus and Snape hurried towards them.

Dobby was occupied with hugging Harry's knees in excitement, embarrassing Harry terribly in the process. Dumbledore eyed the scene, then his eyes fell on the tray with the Cruoris Potion.

"Dobby, what is going on here? Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley were supposed to bring those potions, where are they?"

Reluctantly, Dobby turned around but didn't release his dead grip on Harry's knees.

"Master Weasley told Dobby to bring those here sir. He told Dobby that Master Potter was in great danger and that he and Mistress Hermione had to follow Master Potter and the Death Eaters. He told Dobby to tell Master Dumbledore that, sir."

Dumbledore frowned.

"What exactly did Mr. Weasley tell you?"

"He told Dobby that Master Potter was taken by Death Eaters to the Forbidden Forest sir. He and Mistress Hermione wanted to follow them and told Dobby that he should tell you that sir. And then Dobby comes here and finds Master Potter, Dobby is glad that he is here and not captured."

"They left the castle?"

Dobby only nodded.

Dumbledore turned towards Remus and Sirius who had gone pale during Dobby's story.

"A trap", was all Dumbledore said. Both Sirius and Remus nodded.


	12. A Rescue Mission

_Hi to everybody out there! While I'm typing this, I still hope that I'll be able to publish it before Christmas as a little present for all of you._

_Now things start getting tough. I have to admit that I've not really written battle-scenes before, so your reviews are more needed than ever before. If you think that I'm not doing as well as you'd expect it, then please let me know how I can improve. Thanks._

_On with the A/N (man, this really can become an addiction!):_

_Maryanne__: Well, technically they're not in the __Forest__ yet, they're on their way. And they did that stupid thing because they thought that they saw Harry being dragged off by two Death Eaters. There was no other reaction to be expected from them, was there? And it surely would have been smarter to apparate all the students somewhere else, but that would also be more complicated. Actually, I didn't pay too much attention to where the children were apparated to, I only added that part after I was asked for it in a review. And Dumbledore knows that Voldemort is after Harry and him, not after the students as such. So they should be safe for now just by being away from the castle._

_Schwester__ Aurelia: You don't get too much attention here normally, but today I'll answer here instead of an email. GMX is doing weird things lately…_

_The song was 'Jingle Bells', though I don't know 'Schweinchen Babe'. And I'll read and review your new chapter tonight. And yes, concerning my cliffhangers we're not living in a democracy here, I am the one to dictate when they appear and when not! Mwhahahaha! _

_There won't be a sequel to this story, I already wrote you (in the mail that GMX swallowed without sending) that after this story, I'll try to finish No Longer Safe and then I already have another little plot in mind. It's a somewhat AU story. Harry doesn't go to the Dursleys after his parents' death, but he can't live with Sirius because that guy is in prison and everybody considers him guilty. So where will he stay? Let's just say that he'll need a babysitter once a month. Oh, and then somebody will break out of a certain prison and things will get complicated…and if I really, really dare it, I'll make it slash. But only if I fell right about it. And there will be a lot of kamining, I promise!_

_Valeria isn't related to Voldemort, nor is she his lover or something. Some people are just evil, without a reason like that._

_'Per se' is 'as such'._

_I can't get rid of the image of Wolfgang of Uberwald with the sun playing on his muscles either. Hmmmmmm…_

_If somebody dies here, be it Sirius or anybody else, it won't be out of a sadistic urge or something like that. It will be necessary for the plot. Somehow. At least._

_Harry won't get spanked, no matter how much he deserves it. _

_According to '__Oxford__'s Advanced Learner's Dictionary', a "moron" is: 1. a very stupid person and 2. a person who is mentally subnormal. Not a very nice thing to say. I had to look it up myself, because though I use it frequently, I didn't know what exactly the translation was._

_I don't have the Japanese HP comic. Request to send it to me immediately, please!_

_'comply' means 'agree'_

_The orphanage won't be in danger. Hogwarts however will be. Erm…is._

_I was grinning too, when I wrote that little Sirius/Remus scene. And yes, his voice definitely melts chocolate. Every kind of chocolate. And ice. And stone. And my heart. Erm, did I really type that out?_

_That thing about Ron and Hermione was the most romance I'm able to write for them!_

_Cuddling you back with all my might, your reviews really brighten up my day!_

_Vegeta__ Jr.: No, it's not good at all. I agree._

_sarahpeach__: I made that mistake with skipping parts of stories myself, but I learned that sometimes they're important. Sorry that you found them boring, I found it quite hard to create a OC character in a story with loads of already known characters. Didn't work out for you, I guess, I'm really sorry about that._

_A.Dee__: Actually, writing this chapter has been kind of weird as well. I know that it was confusing not only with Valeria and McNair, but also (and maybe especially) with that strange man staring at the castle. Though it will be explained later, so don't worry. And I didn't solve the cliffhanger at the beginning of the chapter, which might have just increased its strangeness. But now we both have to live with it, I guess._

_Lisette__: Thank you. I'm surprised that the chapter didn't seem to confuse you, it would have confused me had I not known what was happening. But I guess that's a good thing._

_Bobbi__: I enjoy being mean. And I'm talking about enjooooooooyyyyiiiiiinggg! *g*_

_Bookworm2000__: Is that story a HP fic or just something about werewolves in general? Do you have it on the net somewhere? I personally don't think that being like Poe or King is a bad thing for I adore both of them. Especially Stephen King's 'The girl who loved Tom Gordon' and 'The Eyes of the Dragon'. They're awesome, so there's nothing wrong about that comparison._

_evil__ spapple pie: What does that name mean, by the way?_

_Another long review, I'm flattered. And no, you're not slow and I didn't want to hint at that. I mean, I know what is going on and I know what I have already hinted at, so it's easy for me to say 'I wonder that nobody realizes this'. You know?_

_If they cut out as much Snape in PoA as they did in __CoS__, then I'll go and kick some a**! Really! I mean, they got one of the best actors in the world for that role, and then they cut him out??? Where's the reason in that? And without all those small scenes between Snape and Harry, their 'hate' for each other and also his relation towards the Marauders don't become that clear I think!_

_Were I a wizard, I'd Crucio Wormtail myself, believe me!_

_You're right, I wouldn't have appreciated colourful language about turning Charlie and the Dragon Keepers into werewolves, but only out of the reason that IT. ISN'T. TRUE. Your second suggestion hit the point, however. You're the first one to come up with the answers, though with a little help. But still. Another gold star to you * (after all, you were the one who gave me my first Death Threat some time ago, I've been waiting for that for ages!)._

_Remus won't stay in the castle, that much I can tell. As for his Patronus: I already have an idea Aurelia gave me, but I'm still not completely sure about it. But it won't be a wolf._

_If Sirius wants to read everything while he's drunk, well, he has my blessing. After all, I don't have to deal with the consequences. But I'd advice him to stay sober, otherwise he could get things wrongly. And alcohol doesn't work too good together with pain killers, as far as I know…_

_You're right about the meaning of Harry rolling his eyes, now that I read your definition. Another of my language inadequacies (but I know that word alright!) *g*_

_Well, YOU say we haven't seen anything more of James. *g* Get the idea? Think back to the end of PoA…_

_Hermione trying to search for a logical explanation is just what Hermione would do, so that had to be in. And they've all been taken by surprise, but there will be more surprises to come. And that Sirius/Remus moment was necessary just as well, who knows if they'll get another chance? *g*_

_There won't be any Lucius in the story. Simply because I couldn't come up with a believable explanation as to how he got out of the Ministry captivity. Remember that he wasn't in Azkaban when it was raided? So your second theory about the Harry-Potter-look-alike isn't right. But the first one…how shall I put it…has some truth in it. A lot of truth actually._

_Yepp, Ron and Hermione will be lured out, then Harry will follow them and danger ensues. But it won't go as smooth as you describe it, there will be other things coming in between. Dementors, Death Eaters, werewolves, Wormtail, Valeria, Monty Python's Flying Circus and a herd of killer buffaloes. Well, two of those actually not, guess which ones._

_Leave the Kookaburras in __Australia__ where they belong. They always remind me of a song, a canon or round actually, which we always sang in sixth grade music lessons: Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree / Merry, merry king of the bush is he / Laugh, Kookaburra laugh / Kookaburra gay your life must be. Well, I have to admit that in my second year of learning English, I was honestly wondering how gay birds could create offspring. It took me years to find out that it can also mean something like 'fun loving' or 'happy'. That's the disadvantage of not being a native speaker, but it's a lot of fun sometimes *g*._

_Leap of Fate__: Well, as I said I have no experience whatsoever in writing fight scenes and my inventiveness concerning spells is very limited. So the actual fighting scenes will be limited to what our protagonists go through – but that should be enough, I think!_

_naughtynat__: Well, Sirius won't actually be the 'hero', but I can promise that what happens to him or what he does will have a real influence on Harry's behaviour._

_DansGirl4eva__: No need to call me God *g*, no but honestly: There's more cliffhangers ahead. Worse cliffhangers. Mwhahahaha!_

_Fantazmegorik__: Oh yeah, go ahead you all and change your names into something I can't type out without mistakes! Well, I think I'll get used to it, for there are still at least six chapters up the way it seems now. I don't want to be the reason you don't do your homework you know? But then again, who on Earth needs physics? I dropped it as soon as I could, and in __Germany__ that meant 11th grade. No more physics for me in my entire life! And for the past six years I've been doing very well without! And don't worry about the C you get, I always had a 5 in Germany, which would be something like a D- or an F in your country I think._

_What does hunky dory mean? And nobody is pleased about the werewolves, especially not Remus, I can tell you! _

_It was about time for Ron and Hermione, I agree. But I can't write real romance for the life of me, especially not for those two (I have difficulties writing them at all I have to admit), so that will have been it._

_And you're wrong: no Polyjuice in use here. *g*_

_I think Professor Trelawney has the same problem with her inner eye: it simply doesn't work properly!_

_phoenix220__: Hi there and welcome! Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and find such warm words. (I can need warmth, __Germany__ is freezing right now!). Harry is going to stop blaming Sirius, but that will take some time and some more dreadful incidents. _

_Harry won't be getting romance in the story, though I have to admit that he would have earned a romantic break. But I'm awfully bad at thinking up and writing romance, so I'll just let it be._

_There will be about six more chapters, at least that's what I estimate now (I haven't finished the writing completely). And there won't be a sequel to this story, but I'll definitely continue writing HP stories. The next plot bunnies are already sitting on my shoulders…_

_And it definitely was a long review! Thanks again!_

_juggling__ stars: You can't be dreading to read the fighting scenes more than I'm dreading to write them!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Erm…okay!?! I guess that was supposed to be background drums creating tension?_

_Okay, that's it for this week. Here's your little Christmas present from me. A Happy __Holiday__ and a very good start for the New Year to all of you!_

_Enjoy!_

**A Rescue ****Mission******

Harry paled visibly when he heard Dobby tell that his two best friends had been lured out of the castle, thinking that he had been taken captive. He should have known that Ron and Hermione would not be safe if they stayed in the castle, no matter what Dumbledore had planned to keep them safe. And now Voldemort had used their friendship and loyalty towards him against them, he used it to get hold of Harry.

To say that Harry was angry would have been the understatement of the century. He was fuming with a kind of anger he had never felt before. This time, Voldemort had gone too far and this time he would pay bitterly.

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Harry made his way towards the doors of the Great Hall, ready to go out and give the Dark Lord a piece of his mind. Had he taken some time to think about what he was doing there, he might have stopped and waited for the adults to come to a decision. He might have realized that alone there would be no way for him to stand against Voldemort and the forces he had assembled around Hogwarts. But unfortunately, reason at that moment was a thing Harry didn't waste his time in.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Hermione, let's take the shortcut through the kitchens. You remember the side entrance that is there? If we leave through this door, we'll be closer to the forest, it'll safe us some time."

Hermione only nodded at Ron, their running pace being way to fast for her to waste breath with speaking. After some moments, the two teens arrived in front of the painting of a fruit bowl which marked the entrance to the kitchens. Ron tickled the pear and the portrait swung aside to allow them entrance.

Only some house elfs were left in the kitchens, but Ron and Hermione chose to ignore them and instead ran through the room at the fastest pace they could still manage. Only when they reached the back door, they stopped.

"Ron, don't you think that the entrance is closed? I mean, with all those wards around the castle?"

Ron shook his head.

"No. I don't think that they locked that door. It can only be opened from the inside, Harry and I once locked us out on a nightly kitchen raid and we had to get back in through the front door. Trust me, that door's open."

As if to prove his words, Ron pulled the doorknob and the wooden obstacle swung open. The two gave a final nod to each other, then they ran out and pulled the door close behind them. 

They were indeed quite close to the Forbidden Forest right now, at least closer than they would have been had they left the castle through the front doors.

"Where are they?"

Hermione quickly scanned the area, realizing that so far the raging battle had not reached this side of the castle. At least that was a relief. But she could not find Harry and the two Death Eaters that had dragged him away.

"I don't see them, Ron."

Ron sighed.

"Me neither, Hermione. But they dragged him off towards the forest, let's see if we can find any trace of them there. If we stay close to the castle walls and then go around behind the greenhouses, we should be relatively out of sight."

Hermione nodded and both started running off, carefully eying their surroundings for any signs of attackers or their captured friend.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Dumbledore sighed.

"We have to get both of them back into the castle, as soon as possible. I don't want to imagine what would happen if they fall into the hands of the Death Eaters."

Snape smirked.

"Well, trust Granger and Weasley to come up with such a stupid idea. They always get themselves into trouble like that."

Remus glared at his colleague.

"Severus, you're not helping!"

Snape only shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to Dumbledore, who by now had pulled out the map once more and tried to find the location of the two under aged wizards. It was a difficult task, for the Aurors and the Death Eaters and werewolves that they were fighting melted into a blur of labelled dots on the castle grounds. Dumbledore decided that Hermione and Ron surely had not been stupid enough to make their way through the fighting parties, and so he scanned the area closer to the castle walls in search for them. Besides, if they had left through the main entrance, the Aurors positioned there who organized the transport of the wounded would not have let them out. Sirius' voice interrupted him.

"Remus, do you remember the passage through the kitchens? The entrance is as close to the forest as possible, maybe they have taken that way."

Dumbledore immediately looked at the walls near the kitchens, and true to Sirius' words, two dots labelled "Hermione Granger" and "Ronald Weasley" were moving across the grounds behind the greenhouses. Dumbledore sighed.

"We'll send out two groups to bring them back. Sirius, Remus, you take the way through the kitchens, you're the ones who know that way best. Minerva, Severus, leave through the main doors. They're closer from here and with those two moving around, we cannot be sure whether Sirius and Remus still find them where they are now. We'll light the windows of the first floor green as a sign that they've been brought back for the other party."

Snape, McGonagall and Remus nodded, though Snape didn't look too pleased that he was sent out to search for the two missing Gryffindors. He and McGonagall made their way towards the doors, but when Remus wanted to follow them he realized that Sirius was rooted to the spot and still stared at the map with wide eyes. Remus frowned his brow in confusion.  
"Sirius? Let's go."

"That stupid idiot."

Remus shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

Sirius didn't say anything but pointed at a small dot that was currently moving through the kitchens. The dot was labelled "Harry Potter". Remus froze, then looked around and realized that truly Harry must have left the Great Hall after hearing that his friends had been trapped without anybody realizing. Inwardly, Remus started cursing himself that he had not paid better attention to him, he should have known that Harry wouldn't stay behind in a situation like this. Dumbledore too locked flabbergasted about this.

"We need to bring Harry back immediately." he whispered.

Suddenly, Sirius overcame his paralysis and started sprinting towards the doors, on his way to the kitchens. Remus had a hard time to catch up with his friend who was driven forth by the frantic fear for Harry's wellbeing as well as by the urge to give his godson a piece of his mind about this.

When he finally ran beside his old time friend, Sirius gave Remus a side glance.

"Are you sure about this? Leaving the castle with all those werewolves around?"

Sirius asked Remus this without slowing down his pace. Remus just shook his head.

"Those werewolves aren't my biggest concern right now. If something happens to Harry, we'll have a big problem. We have to find him."

They kept on running until they reached the picture of the fruit bowl. Just as Sirius opened the passage, Remus had an idea.

"Sirius, change into Padfoot and go ahead. You have to stop Harry, and when I've caught up we'll go looking for Ron and Hermione."

Sirius just stared at him.

"Are you daft? I can't let you go out there alone!"

Remus closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down.  
"Sirius, I'm perfectly able to defend myself out there. Harry however is not. He's the one who needs somebody to help him, not me. Just go ahead, I'll catch up with you at the greenhouses. Padfoot is a lot faster than I am, just go!"

Sirius nodded, then changed into the huge dog and literally shot through the kitchens. Remus ran behind him and mentally made a note to apologize to the house elfs when all this was over. The little creatures were utterly confused by the sudden appearance of a large, black dog that sped through their kitchens without caring whether he ran into one of them or bounced into a stack of china on his way.

Remus shook his head and ran behind Sirius as fast as he could, but the dog soon was out of sight.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

As fast as he could, Harry left the Great Hall behind. He knew that he could not leave the castle through the main doors, the Aurors there would only send him back into the Great Hall immediately. But Ron and Hermione had also left the castle, and if they were heading for the Forbidden Forest then surely they would have left through the kitchens. So that was the way Harry was taking.

Oblivious to the fact that just at this moment his disappearance was discovered by the people in the Great Hall, Harry ran through the kitchen, opened the hidden door that led outside and stepped out. He took one quick look around, scanning the area for his friends before he set off towards the greenhouses. He knew Ron and Hermione well, and both would surely have tried to stay hidden from the eyes of the Death Eaters. So it was quite probable that they had taken the way along the castle walls, then behind the greenhouses and across the short open distance towards the outer edge of the Forest. 

Though Harry was focussed on finding his friends before any Death Eater could, he did also try to stay hidden himself, not exposing his presence to any Death Eater that might stroll around here. However, staying hidden when you're not experienced in such situations at all is quite a difficult task, and so Harry was taken by surprise when suddenly his legs gave away and something big and heavy pressed him to the ground before he even had the chance to aim his wand at the attacker.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Can you see something?"

Hermione and Ron were currently crouching behind one of the greenhouses, hidden between the glasshouse and the castle wall a few feet away, and Ron was looking around the edge to see whether their way towards the forest was clear. From the other side of the castle, faint sounds of screaming and cursing drifted towards the two teens, but here the lawn between the greenhouses and the forest was quiet. Too quiet for Ron's liking.

"There's nobody here, at least nobody that I can see. Though I don't understand why neither the Death Eaters nor the Ministry have taken guard here, but right now it's not the time to ask for their reasons, don't you think? Let's run!"

With this, he straightened from his crouch and set off towards the forest as fast as he could, Hermione on his heels. The edge of the forest and with it the safety of the trees was only two- maybe three hundred metres away, they should be able to reach it fast enough to go unnoticed.

Ron threw a look over his shoulder to see whether his girlfriend was able to keep up his pace.

'My girlfriend? Where did that thought come from?' Ron asked himself. But then again, he had kissed Hermione and if she had not wanted it, she would have told him. 'But does that mean that she's my girlfriend?' The realization that he was running a dead race against time, that he was trying to save his best friend from being captured and while doing so was inwardly discussing his love-life nearly made Ron laugh. He decided to let that matter rest for while he was out here and think about it as soon as they had brought Harry back into the castle. 

Next to him, he could hear Hermione's strained breathing. The forest was close now, only a few seconds more and they would be safe there.

"_Locomotor__ Mortis!"_

 It happened so fast, there was no chance for either Ron or Hermione to react. Out of nowhere as it seemed, someone had thrown the leg-locker curse at them and suddenly both found themselves on the floor, unable to move their legs and get away. Ron frantically looked around, trying to find out where the curse had come from, who had attacked them and how many opponents they were facing. His eyes met Hermione's and he saw his own panic mirrored in them.

Ron struggled against his bonds, despite better knowledge he tried to make his legs obey him, tried to get to his feet. But his efforts were to no avail. Then Ron thought about it. His wand! Of course! He could not use his legs anymore, but that didn't mean that he could not use his wand to curse everybody who tried to get close to them.

Ron grabbed his wand from his pockets and with a relieved sigh saw that Hermione must have gone through the same line of thought, because she too grabbed her wand and looked around for their attackers.

"_Expelliarmus!"_

Though Ron gripped tightly onto his wand, he could not prevent the piece of wood to shoot away from his grab after this incarnation. Neither did Hermione.

A laugh from under the trees finally revealed their attackers. Two men clad in black robes, their hoods drawn up and white masks hiding their faces, stepped out of their cover. The taller of the two was holding Ron's and Hermione's wand in his hand. He stepped towards the teens, staying just out of reach in case one of them tried to attack him with bare hands and looked at them.

"Well, well. There you are. You though you were so clever, didn't you? Running out of the castle without telling anybody, how stupid of you."

Ron ignored the sarcasm that was dripping from the man's word and kept on struggling against his bonds.

"What did you do to Harry?"

A harsh laugh was all he received as an answer at first. He looked at the second Death Eater that had remained in the background and kept Hermione at wand point. Both men started to laugh, as if Ron had made an especially funny remark. Finally, the taller man turned back towards Ron.

"Harry Potter? We didn't do anything to him. As a matter of fact, he didn't even leave the castle. At least not yet. I think that might change when he finds out where you have gone to."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Snape and McGonagall reached the entrance doors way faster than Remus and Sirius left the castle through the kitchens. Two Aurors were positioned at the doors, and at the bottom of the doorsteps a large group of medi-wizards organized the first-aid for the slightly wounded and brought the more seriously injured men into the castle to Madam Pomfrey and the Ministry medi-wizards that had arrived by now. One look at the scene in front of them showed Snape and McGonagall that the situation was serious. Between them and the Forbidden Forest, Ministry Aurors in their navy blue robes were huddled together in groups of five or more, frantically trying to drive the Dementors back into the forest, to stun an kill the werewolves that kept attacking them and in addition to that tried to eliminate the Death Eaters that kept on throwing curses at them. The Ministry wizards were clearly outnumbered and Snape immediately realized that it would only be a matter of time until the battle was lost.

Already, many of them were being levitated towards the medi-wizards. Some of them had been hit by smaller curses that only made them temporarily unable to fight, at least until those curses were removed. But some of the injured suffered either from the consequences of stronger, darker curses or from wounds that had been inflicted by the wolves.

As Snape and McGonagall stepped out of the castle, one man was being levitated towards the medi-wizards who had a large bleeding gash across his torso and a lot of small bleeding wounds on his shoulders and arms. The medi-wizard immediately began magically sewing the wounds while he turned his attention to the man's partner who had brought him.

"Bite wounds or claws?"

The Auror shook his head.

"What?"

The medi-wizard sighed loudly.

"Are these only claw marks or has he been bitten by one of the wolves?"

The doctor was nearly shouting now, clearly impatient. The Auror just shook his head in confusion.

"I don't…I don't know. That beast threw him on the ground, I don't know if it has bitten him or not!"

Sighing again, the doctor conjured a colour coded ribbon around the injured man's wrist, then motioned the Auror to bring him into the castle.

"Bring him inside, he needs to see another doctor for further treatment."

With this said, he turned away from the two men and towards the next wounded that was brought to him.

Snape looked at one of the Aurors that was standing guard on the entrance.

"Are further reinforcements on their way?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, but it might take another fifteen minutes until they arrive. There were problems in assembling the reserve unit."

"You definitely need them."

The man nodded again.

"Yes. If we could only drive those Dementors back for good, then it would be a lot easier. But as it is now, the Death Eaters have a big advantage."

"How many have been bitten by the werewolves by now?"

"As far as I know nobody. There were some cases in which the doctors weren't quite sure whether they had been bitten, but their injuries were very sever anyway and it's not really probable that they survive."

Now McGonagall took her turn in the conversation.

"Two students that have remained have left the castle. As far as it's possible, could you keep looking out for them? It's highly improbable that they show up right here on the battle field, but one can never be sure."

The Auror nodded.

"We'll have an eye on it. But right now we don't have the capacities to send out search parties for them, so we'll only be able to find them if they somehow come close here."

McGonagall nodded.

"We have made our own search parties. But if they show up, try and bring them back into the castle as soon as possible."

The three nodded at each other again, and Snape and McGonagall hurried off towards the Forest, trying to stay close to the castle walls and not to get engaged in the battle. Snape was especially carefully, knowing fully well that if he was discovered by the Death Eaters, his life would be over soon.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The impact of the collision threw Harry to the ground and drew the air out of his lungs. Harry tried to reach for his wand, why he had not drawn it the moment he left the castle remained a mystery to him. But he could not reach it, because the heavy weight on his chest didn't go away and hindered him in reaching out for the only weapon he had. Drawing breath became difficult and Harry started to see stars behind the lids of his eyes. Just as he thought that he was about to lose consciousness, the weight disappeared and he could breathe again. 

Hands grabbed his shoulders and brought him into a sitting position with his back to the castle walls. Harry was so occupied with regaining his breath that at first he didn't think about the danger he was still in. But before he could even think about defending himself, a lowered but angry voice started hissing at him.

"What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing here? That's the most stupid thing you've ever done!"

Harry looked up and found himself face to face with an obviously furious Sirius. He opened his mouth to respond, but Sirius interrupted him.

"I really don't want to hear it, Harry. Running off while we were planning to get Ron and Hermione back, really, don't you ever think? You could be captured or even worse, killed running around here on your own."

Harry shook his head.

"They trapped Ron and Hermione. I had to do something!"

"They trapped them so that you would come out of the castle. That's just what they wanted, don't you understand? We have to bring you back in, it's too dangerous for you out here. You ought to be close to Dumbledore and you know that."

Harry wanted to protest, he wanted to tell Sirius that he couldn't possibly sit inside and wait for his friends to be brought back, but he decided that it wasn't worth wasting his breath. Sirius wouldn't let go until he had brought him back, but to do that they would have to get around the castle. And on their way there would be enough time to look out for Ron and Hermione.

Approaching footsteps made Sirius spin around. He quickly drew his wand, crouched down in front of Harry and looked who was coming towards them. Harry couldn't see anything, but after a short tense moment, Sirius visibly relaxed and let his wand sink down.

"Harry, thanks Merlin that Sirius found you!"

Though Harry still didn't see him, he recognized Remus' voice. Moments later, his professor came into sight.

"You alright, Harry?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"Yeah, if Sirius hadn't decided to knock the air out of me I would be even better, but I'm alright."

Remus only nodded and looked at Sirius. The other man was pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, a gesture Remus immediately recognized. Sirius was thinking up a way to bring them back into the castle. After a short while, Sirius removed the hand from his face and looked at Harry and Remus.

"Okay. We have to get back in, but before that we have to look out for Ron and Hermione. If they're still on the grounds and not in the Forest yet, well collect them up and bring back the three together. If they're already in the Forest, I'll go looking for them as Padfoot and you will bring Harry back. We'll walk behind the greenhouses, and from there we'll take the way behind the castle, approaching the main entrance from the side of the lake. Maybe this way we can avoid being seen by the Death Eaters and the wolves."

Remus followed his line of thought and nodded. It was the best option they had.

"Alright, let's go!"

Sirius led the way he intended to go, and keeping Harry in their middle Remus covered their backs. 

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"And what will you do with us now?"

Ron thought that he had never heard Hermione so afraid before. Her voice quivered, and he realize that she was about to burst into tears. Thinking about it, their situation was quite hopeless, Ron had to admit that. As soon as they had fulfilled their purpose of luring Harry out of the castle, there would be no further need for them.

The Death Eater that still held them at wand point and up to now had remained silent, laughed. When he finally spoke, his cold and hoarse voice sent shivers down Ron's spine.

"Scared, little mudblood?"

"Don't call her that!"

Ron was furious. Nobody called Hermione that name, be it Malfoy or that stupid Death Eater over there. But this time, he should have remained silent. The man's voice sharpened even more.

"How sweet, you care for that mudblood. And what do you want to do to make me stop calling her whatever I want?"

He stepped closer to Hermione, crouched down next to her and looked into Ron's eyes. Though Ron could only see a sparkle of wet behind the man's mask, he glared dangerously.

"What can you do to stop me?"

With this, he lowered his hand onto Hermione's head and stroke across her bushy hair. Hermione shivered and tried to move away, but the man grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked at it violently.

Hermione cried out and her head bent back under the tension. The Death Eater didn't look at her but kept on staring at Ron.

"You'd better shut up, or she'll regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

Another yank on Hermione's hair emphasized what he meant and hearing Hermione's cry of pain Ron immediately nodded.

"Good. Keep that in mind."

With this, the Death Eater got up again, went over towards Ron and kicked him violently in the ribs.

Ron drew in a sharp take of breath and tried to curl into a ball to protect himself from the man. The kick had been well aimed and a sharp pain spread through Ron's left side of the body. He bit his lip, nearly hard enough to draw blood and tried to will the pain away.

Both Death Eaters laughed.

"I hope this makes clear what awaits her when you try again to play hero."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Sirius, what do we do now?"

Remus, Harry and Sirius were crouching behind the greenhouses and had just discovered Ron and Hermione. However, they had also discovered that the Death Eaters had gotten hold of them, and this made the situation slightly more difficult.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"If we could be sure that it were only those two, then it would not be that much of a problem. But I don't trust the fact that they're so close to the Forest. There could be more of them only waiting to come out as soon as Harry shows up."

Remus nodded, deep in thought. Harry only half-listened to what the adults were saying. His eyes were glued onto Ron and Hermione, who were still lying on the floor, held at wand point by the smaller Death Eater, the one who had just recently kicked Ron. Harry's chin was quivering as he tried to hold back the fury he felt. Those two would regret ever coming here when this was over, Harry silently vowed to himself.

His attention was brought back to Remus and Sirius when the two of them started arguing about the best way to free Ron and Hermione. Remus pledged to wait for Snape and McGonagall in case that there were more Death Eaters hiding in the Forest, but Sirius didn't wand to lose more time, saying that as long as they didn't know how long those two would be staying in one place they had no time to lose. 

Suddenly his narrowed eyes widened and a grin spread across his face.

"I have a plan." Sirius announced.


	13. Plans And Flights or: Of Narrow Escapes

_Hi there! _

_I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (or whatever your specific religion celebrated or didn't celebrate during the last couple of days), and I hope you all enjoyed your spare time. I in fact did, and surprisingly I also found some time to continue my little story. So – here you go._

_Just a couple of words before I start:_

_First: I have seen the movie of __CoS__, but judging from the books I don't think that the greenhouses are so close to the castle. In my imagination, some of them are near the castle, but they then line up across the plains towards the forest. Just that you're not confused by this chapter._

_Second: I jump a lot in this chapter between the different points of view. I hope this doesn't confuse you, it all takes place in nearly the same timeline and nearly in chronological order._

_Third: I hhope I wrote the fighting scenes all right, if you got anything to say about them, feel free to let me know what I can do better._

_Okay, that's it, here go first the A/N and then the chapter as such. _

_Enjoy!_

_evil__ spapple pie: Oh finally somebody does share my opinion. I thought that maybe it was because I'm already 22 years old, but I didn't consider Draco to be cute in the movie, either. He's too – oh, I don't have any words for it. And in contrast to the first movie, he's acting so wooden in the second. I've seen him in 'Anna and the King', and there he was far more natural than in __CoS__. And was it just me or did he really 'flirt' with Ron in Flourish & Botts? I mean, he made this facial expression, just as if he was seductively raising his eyebrows or something. Really strange indeed…_

_And now you got it with Valeria and the Guards. As for how she controls them: well, a little bit of good ol' Imperius does that job for her._

_And actually I've not received another Death threat since yours. So you still have a special position amongst my reviewers. And I'm surprised about the lack of Death Threats, especially with 'murdering' Remus and ruining Sirius' and Harry's relationship – oops, did I really type that out?_

_You've done Japanese for six years? Is that more common in __Australia__, because here in __Europe__ it's something extraordinary, really.__ A friend of mine learned it for half a year, but then it was too much work. It's so different from all the European languages. Are you good at it, I mean, could you actually talk in Japanese with someone?_

_Who was the mysterious man that lured Ron and Hermione out of the castle? Well, trust your first intuition, that's all I say. No Polyjuice and no time-turners involved here._

_Lucius was in the Ministry building for questioning when Azkaban was raided. This doesn't refer to TLM, I mentioned it in a side sentence when Dumbledore tells the teachers about the raid in Azkaban. But that's why I don't know how to bring him back into the story._

_Glad I'm not the only one with the homosexual bird problem *g*, and thanks for pointing out the mistakes. I didn't re-read the chapter before posting, that's how it could have happened._

_Will & Grace is great, it's broadcasted in __Germany__ as well._

_Oh, and Severus, Remus and Sirius are still alive and breathing at the end of this chapter. Though Severus might be panting, from what I guess._

_phoenix220__: I guess from the books and the movies that winter in Hogwarts can be icy. Anyway, I just made it really, really, REALLY cold for this part of my story. Thanks for all the good wishes and here you go with the next chapter!_

_Fantazmegorik__: The pain about your name becomes more bearable each time *g*. And you don't have to reduce your Yankee expressions, I'm intending to learn anything I can learn. You only need to explain them if I don't get the meaning. I still don't know what I'm going to do about people who possibly got bitten, but then again the end of my story is still far away and I still have time to think about it. And Sirius didn't tackle Harry, Padfoot did that job. And he's big and furry._

_Bookworm2000__: I hate cliffhangers when I have to read them. As long as I am the one who writes them, it's alright._

_A.Dee__: Sirius isn't grinning because he thinks the situation is funny or something. He's grinning because he's got a plan and is kinda proud of himself!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: No cliffie this time, promise._

_Ms__. Issues: No cliffie this time, promise._

_sarahpeach__: I promise that Draco Malfoy won't be saving the day again. This has been used in my other story, so I won't do that again. You're right, it would be old and boring. Something completely different will happen this time. If that's good or not is your job to judge about._

_Eva__: Don't intend to be mean. Really. And I'll send you my review to Time Toss later tonight or tomorrow evening latest. I just came home from Christmas without a computer!_

_Leap__ of fate: Remus hasn't decided yet either whether it's a good thing or not that Sirius has a plan._

_Schwester__ Aurelia: Mail is on its way, I just can't put that in here. Sometimes I think I hit the 100.000 words just because I responded to your reviews *g*. But what can I say? I love them!_

_supergenius__: I'll ask my professors whether I can get more time to release my readers from their tension. No, I think I can't do that, but it's funny imagining it. 'Excuse me professor, about that paper I have to hand in – you see, I'm writing a story and there are readers who were left on a cliffhanger…' Great! That image saved my day!_

****

**Plans And Flights or: Of Narrow Escapes**

Remus looked at Sirius in disbelief. Not that he doubted his friend's ability to come up with a plan even in the most hopeless situations; on the contrary he knew that most likely one of Sirius' schemes would provide the highest probability for all of them to get out of this relatively unharmed.

But what did scare the wits out of Remus right then was the grin on Sirius' face. Having Sirius cunning and planning was one thing, and mostly a good one at that, but as soon as he started grinning like that, shivers went down Remus' spine.

Sirius' schemes were mostly daring, some of them too daring to be still of reason, but those about which he grinned like that were the ones most other people called 'Mad' or 'Suicidal'. With capital M and S, for the emphasis.

With an exasperated sigh, Remus leaned against the castle wall, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked straight into Sirius' face.

"What kind of plan, Sirius?"

While Sirius was meeting Remus' gaze, he never let Harry out of sight either. He didn't want to give his godson another opportunity to go astray on his own. But right now, Harry stared transfixed at the two adults, waiting for them to come up with an idea how to rescue his friends. So Sirius focussed his attention solely on Remus. A smug smile was still playing around the corners of his lips.

"Well, obviously the situation is the following: We need to free Ron and Hermione, but we don't know whether there are any more Death Eaters lurking around in the shadows of the Forest."

Remus nodded. So far, this was nothing new, he had already known that much.

"So", Sirius continued, "what we need is a way to get towards them without revealing ourselves to them. A way with which we don't raise suspicion immediately.

Remus, can you handle one of the Death Eaters on your own when he's distracted?"

Remus nodded confusedly.

"Why, of course, even is he's not distracted. But what…"

Before Remus could finish his line of thought, Sirius was gone and Padfoot was running across the grass into the direction of the Forbidden Forest. 

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Hermione shot Ron another concerned glance. Ever since that Death Eater had kicked him, his face had  gone pale and his breathing had become strained. And even though Ron had given her what he thought had been a reassuring smile, Hermione couldn't help but worry about him.

It didn't help their situation very much that lying unmoving on the frozen ground in an icy winter night made all body heat slowly leave them. Their breath was forming little dusty clouds in the cold air and both had long ago given up any attempt to stop from shivering openly.

The two Death Eaters that held them captive had started arguing about what to do with them some minutes ago. The smaller of the two, the one who had kicked Ron, seemed to be far more impatient than his partner and was voting to get rid of their charges while the other one, who seemed to be in charge, kept on referring to the plan of keeping them and waiting for Harry to show up.

Ron was trying to listen to the conversation that was going on behind his back, but ever since that kick into his ribs he found it hard enough to concentrate on breathing alone.

But Ron didn't need to hear what exactly was going on behind his back to understand that he and Hermione were in problems. 

They had been trapped, and now either they would be used to lure Harry out of the castle or the Death Eaters would get rid of them anyway.

With a huge physical effort, Ron lifted his head just high enough to see what Hermione across from him was doing. But she didn't even acknowledge his effort, instead her eyes seemed to be glued to a spot somewhere behind him, somewhere behind the two Death Eaters even.

But what confused Ron possibly most was that a small smile was tugging on the corners of Hermione's lips.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Hermes, we need more reinforcements. If we don't find a way to drive back those Dementors, then our Aurors won't stand a chance."

Hermes Wielding, Minister of Magic, sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace of his office, and currently he was looking at the deeply concerned face of Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody that had appeared in his fireplace some minutes ago.

He knew that the situation in Hogwarts was dire, and the fact that Moody was concerned just confirmed his assumption. Moody was not the type of guy who made mountains out of molehills, if he was worried than there usually was a real reason to worry.

"Alastor, as much as I regret it, but the reserve units that have arrived recently is the utmost amount of Aurors that can be spared. I can't send you more men, I don't have the capacities and you know it."

Moody nodded gravely.

"I know that Hermes. And under normal circumstances those men would be more than enough to handle the Death Eaters we are facing here. But against those Dementors and werewolves together, that's a totally different thing. Whatever they have done with them, they have done it effectively. The Dementors seem to be starved from human emotions and the werewolves are just as vicious when it comes to attacking."

Hermes sighed. He knew that Moody was right, that their numbers were not enough to deal with everything that they confronted, but he also knew that it was impossible for him to send more men at the moment. He had talked to the Irish and French Ministers of Magic, but before they could send help it would take another two or three hours. And until then, his own men would have to face whatever they were facing alone. All the anger and frustration of the last couple of hours was now boiling openly inside of Wielding. He had not been Minister of Magic for very long, and even though he knew that in accepting this job he was taking one of the most unthankful positions in Britain's entire wizarding world, he had vowed to himself to do a good job at it. And now it all seemed to run out of his hands, he felt as if he was trying to hold onto liquid at which he could not get a hold at all. 

"Then you have to think of a way to get rid of the Dementors and the werewolves! For Merlin's sake, you're the one who's always preaching that there is always a way to be found if you look in the right places, aren't you?"

Realizing that this was neither the right time, nor was Moody the right person to release his anger on, Wielding was about to apologize for his sudden outburst. But when he turned back, Moody's expression had changed and he was even smiling at him.

"Alastor?"

"Hermes, you're a genius, did you know that? I've got to go, I have an idea."

With these words, Mad Eye Moody broke the connection form the fireplace, leaving a very confused Minister of Magic behind. After some moments of recollection, Wielding shook his head, got up from his chair and left his office. He stopped three doors down the hallway, knocked and walked into the office of Arthur Weasley.

Arthur, who had been filing a large stack of papers as if in search for something specific, looked up.

"Hermes, is something wrong?"

Wielding sighed.

"Everything is wrong tonight, Arthur, everything. But things are getting worse. Tell me Arthur, do you know where my substitutes are at the moment?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, as it is common in times of crisis, they're spread across our facilities so that in case something happens to you, the Ministry remains working under one of them. But you know that, why do you ask?"

Wielding stepped in front of the fireplace and grabbed the pot with floo powder.

"I'm asking because I'm planning to leave for Hogwarts. And I can only leave if I know that somebody is here in case I won't come back."

Arthur nodded and got up.

"I'll make sure Martin replaces you until you come back. Wait here for me, I'm coming with you."

Hermes' forehead frowned.

"Don't you have work here to do?"

Arthur just shook his head.

"No, not really. All I've been doing for the last couple of days is searching for any kind of clue as to where Charlie can be. I'm going mad in here, and if the situation at Hogwarts is as bad as I guess it is, I'd like to have an eye on my youngest son."

Wielding nodded and Arthur quickly left the room.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry had never heard Remus curse loudly before, but now he did. And it didn't surprise him that it was Sirius who provoked this reaction from the usually so self-restrained and polite man.

To be bluntly honest, Harry agreed that Sirius' idiocy this time had earned far more than just this string of colourful curses.

But now it was too late to discuss whether Sirius' plan was wise or not, because his godfather had already begun to set it into action.

Harry crept closer to Remus who sat in a tense crouch behind the greenhouses and looked out whether Padfoot's appearance would lure more Death Eaters out of the forest. Without turning his eyes from what was going on at the edge of the forest, Remus whispered towards Harry.

"No matter what happens, you stay hidden. Is that understood? In case something happens to Sirius and me, stay close to the castle walls and try to get back into the Great Hall as soon as possible. No matter what happens, you won't go out there, do you understand me?"

Harry nodded, then, realizing that Remus didn't look at him, swallowed and whispered 'yes' into the direction of his teacher and friend. Remus nodded, again without turning his head.

"Good."

With that, he suddenly jumped out of his crouch and vanished in the direction of the forest before Harry even realized what was going on.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Before Ron had much time to wonder what Hermione was looking at, a muffled cry followed by a loud swear from behind him drew his attention away. It sounded as if one of the Death Eaters had been thrown to the floor, but by what, Ron could not tell.

He tried to turn around so that he was able to see what was going on behind his back, but soon had to realize that the Full Body Bind as well as the pain in his ribs were far more than enough to hinder him.

Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere behind him and Ron sighed in relief when he recognized it.

"_Stupefy_!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After leaving the castle, Snape and McGonagall hurried along the wall and into the direction of where the map had shown the position of Ron and Hermione. Both ran in silence and wasted no breath with talking. Occasionally, Snape would slow down before they reached a corner or McGonagall would stay a little behind to see if somebody was following them. Both knew that in case they were discovered and outnumbered, most likely they would not return to the castle alive.

This knowledge, added tot the fact that he was out here, trying to save the lives of two Gryffindors, made Snape even more grumpy than he usually was. And he didn't try anything to hide it.

"Rest assured Minerva, that as soon as we've returned Weasley and Granger to the castle, I'll take each and every single point from Gryffindor for those two brats pulling this stunt!"

Not even looking side wards at Snape, McGonagall replied.

"No Severus, you won't. There won't be any points left for you to take away after **I have finished with them, that much I can guarantee."**

Snape nodded grimly and both teachers continued their way along the walls.

They had left the battle behind themselves some time ago now, the moment they rounded the corner towards the forest, to be precise. So the sounds of the Aurors and Death Eaters cursing each other as well as the howling of the wolves had long ago faded. 

In fact it was really quiet now, too quiet Snape realized with a start.

"Get down!"

As McGonagall didn't immediately react, Snape grabbed her by the sleeve of her robe and pulled her towards the ground with himself, hiding both their bodies behind a bush.

The curse that had been aimed at them missed McGonagall's head by mere inches and shot a notch into the wall behind her. When the dust had settled, McGonagall looked at Snape.

"We've been discovered." she whispered. Snape only nodded.

"We need to get somewhere safe as soon as possible. Follow me!"

Not giving her any time to protest, Snape jumped to his feet, shot a series of Stupefies, Full Body Binds and Disarming spells into the direction from which the curse had come and started running off into the opposite direction. It brought them farther away from the castle, but at the moment they didn't have much of a choice in that matter. First they needed to get rid of their attackers, then they could worry about getting back into the castle.

McGonagall quickly overcame her initial paralysis and mimicked Snape's actions. Both teachers raced across the plain ground with nothing to hide behind, and their initial curses had distracted the Death Eaters only for so long. Soon curses were thrown at them from behind, some of them only narrowly missing them. Ducking down as far as possible without slowing down their speed, the two tried to reach a place where they could hide.

"Keep running, Minerva!" Snape shouted, then spun around and tried to see where their pursuers were hiding. He saw one figure jumping into a crouch and without thinking shot a stunning curse and a full body bind at it. He didn't dare to wait and see whether he had hit target or not, instead he turned again and ran.

When Snape and McGonagall reached the temporary safety of the Quidditch stadium, Snape guided them into the shelter of one of the stands. Leaning back against the staircase, McGonagall allowed herself to sigh as she tried to get her breath back to a normal level.

"How many did you count, Severus?"

Snape next to her thought for a moment, his eyes never leaving the direction from which they had come, scanning the area for any sign that might give away their attackers.

Finally, he answered.

"I counted three, but during raids no Death Eater goes out without a partner. I guess we have two teams, meaning four of them, following us, unless one of them has already gone off to call for reinforcements"

McGonagall nodded.

"What do you suggest, Severus?"

Still not looking at her, Snape answered.

"We can't stay here. We need to get away, and we need to do so as long as there are only four of them out there. So it's either going out there now or climbing up the stand and then searching for a way from there."

"Then let's get out here now. If we climb the stairs there's no telling how we'll get down again. If the broom sheds are locked and we can't summon a broom we'll be stuck up there."

Snape nodded.

"Alright. I'll distract them while you make a go for the bushes at the castle wall. When you're there you're going to cover my retreat. Okay?"

Again, McGonagall nodded. They needed to get back into the safety of the castle, then they could search for another way to bring Ron and Hermione back.

She just hoped that they would manage to get back safely, in their blind flight some minutes ago they had not considered that the Quidditch stands they were hiding in was ideal for an ambush. Their attackers could easily hide in their backs, and then only sheer luck would bring them back into the castle alive and in one piece.

Snape's coal black eyes came to rest on Minerva for a short moment, then they darted back outside.

"One of them hides behind the Ravenclaw stands, another behind that tree on the left. I guess the other two are hiding somewhere behind us. I can take care of the two that I can see, but about the others I can't do very much from here. Duck down as far as possible, run as fast as you can, but don't go in a straight line. That would make you an easy target. Rely on your instincts, and try to get cover as fast as you can. Go now!"

With another nod, McGonagall shot a glance around and ran into the open.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius knew that he would only waste his breath and some precious time if he tried to explain to Remus what he intended to do next. And not only did they not have any time to waste, in the worst case Remus would hinder him to do what he planned completely. Then they would be back to where they had started and Sirius really saw no need for that. 

So he quickly changed into Padfoot and without waiting for Remus' and Harry's reaction started bouncing off towards the edge of the forest, carefully not aiming at the Death Eaters and Hermione directly, in case they got suspicious of him.

For a moment he thought he heard Remus curse very colourful behind him, but he pushed that thought away quickly. Though he knew that Remus wasn't always as polite and restrained as people pictured him, and though he knew that cursing was something Remus Lupin was actually capable of, no way would his old friend use those words, would he?

Sirius soon realized that he needn't have worried about the two Death Eaters becoming suspicious about him, those two were far too engaged in a discussion to even realize him at all. In his canine form, Sirius wasn't really able to smile, but inwardly smiling he did about this. It made things a lot easier for him.

As he carefully approached the two hooded figures, he realized that Ron was struggling to move into a sitting position and that Hermione was looking straight at him. Praying that she would not alert her guards to his presence and hoping that Remus was watching his back, ready to take over the second Death Eater in time, Sirius jumped off the ground and knocked the smaller man down with the impact of sixty pounds of angry dog. (*)

A muffled cry was all that followed the impact, and before the Death Eater knew what hit him - literally – Sirius had changed back into his own self and pointed his wand at the man.

"_Stupefy!"_

Because Remus was a werewolf, he had not been allowed to enter the Auror training at the Ministry and so Sirius had never been fighting a real battle at his friends side. Right now he once more thought how wrong the Ministry was with their prejudiced attitude, because with Remus at his side he needn't worry about somebody covering his back. Just when he had stunned the first Death Eater and turned around to look for the second, he realized that Remus had by now left the cover behind the greenhouses and stunned the other man from behind. With a court nod he expressed his thanks, especially for the fact that Remus seemed to save the lecture about his 'little plan' for sometime later.

"Harry?"

Remus gestured over his shoulder.

"Still where we left him. Bind those two and then go and fetch him, I'll look after Ron and Hermione."

Sirius nodded and started the task at hand.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Hermes Wielding and Arthur Weasley fell out of the fireplace of the Great Hall's antechamber shortly after Arthur had informed Wielding's substitute Martin Stetson about the Minister's departure. Quickly, they straightened their robes and opened the door that led them into the Great Hall. Whatever both had expected to see there, it was not this.

Having been Hogwarts students themselves, both Wielding and Arthur Weasley knew the Great Hall from uncountable occasions. End of the Year feasts, Start of Term feasts, Graduation, Valentine's Ball, the usual everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner. The room that greeted them now could not have looked more different from the room they remembered from their past. 

The tables had been moved to the sides, and every square metre seemed to be covered with either beds or medical supplies. Madam Pomfrey and a large amount of Ministry medi-wizards were moving around, taking care of the more seriously wounded first because the number of the wounded was far too huge for them to take care of everybody at once.

Wielding breathed in sharply while Arthur let his eyes wander across the room in search of his son. He grew far more tense with every second during which he did see no trace of Ron at all in this busy and slightly disorganized buzz of people.

Suddenly, a voice from their right side made them turn their heads.

"Hermes, Arthur. What made you come here?"

Turning around, they saw Dumbledore approaching them. Though his voice sounded warm, there was no smile on his face and his eyes seemed to be sadder than usual. Wielding greeted him with a handshake.

"Albus. I've been talking to Alastor, and what he told me made me feel quite uncomfortable. So I decided to come here and have a look at it myself. Where is Alastor, by the way?"

Dumbledore shrugged his shoulders.

"After he talked to you, he said something about having an idea, and then he vanished with some of the Aurors and Professor Flitwick. He said he would be back in a couple of minutes, he first wanted to go through his plan with them."

Wielding nodded. 

"Very well. Let's just hope that Alastor finds a way to help us this time as well, like he has already done before. How about I update you on the latest events in the meantime?"

Wielding nodded and followed Dumbledore towards a table on the wall where he and two Ministry members had been discussing something when they had arrived. Arthur Weasley glanced around the Great Hall quite uneasily.

"Albus? Where is Ron?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Maybe you should sit down Arthur. This might come as a bit of a shock."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Ron, are you alright?"

Ron couldn't help but smile when he heard Remus' concerned voice. He still didn't know what exactly had happened, but for now it was enough for him to know that the two Death Eaters had been knocked out and Hermione and he were in safety.

"_Finite Incarnatem_."

Ron felt the Full Body Bind being removed, but previous experience had taught him that maybe it was wise not to move around too much. Hermione immediately got to her knees and bent over him, as did Remus. Both looked at him concernedly.

Ron sighed.

"Professor Lupin, I'm fine, really. But you should maybe check on Hermione, that Death Eater has not been very kind and she's been yanked and pushed around a lot. Not to mention being thrown on the ground."

Hermione shook her head.

"I'm perfectly alright. You're the one who got kicked!"

Remus had to smile at their antics. It was good that some things didn't change, no matter what the situation was. Ron and Hermione's constant bickering seemed to be one of those things.

"Hermione, we saw quite clearly what happened here, so don't worry. I'll have a look at Ron right now.

Sirius, are you finished with those two?"

He called the last part over his shoulder without really looking back. Sirius had just finished binding the two stunned Death Eaters with a variety of binding charms that would have made Professor Flitwick squeal in delight.

"If somebody wants to get those two free, he'll have to spend at least half an hour with it. And I don't think that somebody considers them to be worth that trouble. I'm going to get Harry now."

Remus nodded and Sirius sped off towards the spot where they had left his godson, hoping that at least this time the boy had kept his wits and had stayed there just as they had told him.

Remus meanwhile turned his attention back to Ron.

"Does anything hurt, Ron?"

Ron quickly shook his head.

"I'm fine. Really, it's nothing."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes? Nothing?"

He poked Ron into the side. He didn't poke very hard, but Ron nevertheless flinched immediately.

"I don't think so, Ron. Now tell me, where exactly does it hurt?"

Ron sighed.

"My left side, where that bloody idiot kicked me."

Remus nodded thoughtfully.

"Does it hurt when you're breathing?"

"Only when I breathe in too deeply. Or when I laugh", he added with a grim smile on his face.

Remus smiled genuinely, then turned Ron around so that he was lying flat on his back.

"This might hurt a little, tell me if it does."

Ron nodded and drew in a sharp intake of breath as soon as Remus' fingers came in contact with his wounded side.

"That did hurt."

Remus only nodded, then pressed a little lower at Ron's torso.

"Does that hurt too?"

Ron shook his head.  
"Not as much as the time before."

Remus nodded, then pressed more towards the shoulder.

"That?"

Again, Ron shook his head. Remus sighed.

"Okay. As far as I can see this, you have one broken rib. I can't mend bones half as good as Madam Pomfrey can, and under normal circumstances I'd tell you to wait until we're back in the castle, but right now I think it's wisest to mend the rib right now. You might need your breath later on, we're not back inside yet."

Ron nodded, and Remus quickly pulled out his wand and spoke a couple of healing charms while waving it over Ron's broken rib. When he pressed onto Ron's chest again, Ron only felt a slight twinge. He nodded at Remus, who helped him into a sitting position.

"Thanks. That's a lot better. And what do we do now?"

Remus glanced around. It was dark around them, but he could see two figures moving towards them. So Sirius had found Harry.

Remus helped Ron to his feet, then urged him and Hermione to walk further towards the forest. 

"First we try to get out of sight. And as soon as Sirius and Harry are here, we'll think of something."

Ron and Hermione nodded, and together the three made their way towards the cover of the trees.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Minerva McGonagall ran faster than she could remember to have run ever before in her life. Behind her, she could hear Snape shout deflecting, stunning and disarming spells into the direction of the hidden Death Eaters, but of course he could not cover her flight entirely. At first she had not really known what Snape meant when he told her to rely on her instincts, but soon she found out. Without really knowing why, she felt that something was coming at her and quickly jumped to the side. Looking up, she saw the trace of a curse shooting past her. Quickly she balanced herself again and continued running, not really wanting to think what kind of curse that might have been. Knowing the Death Eaters, it most probably would not have merely stunned her but done far worse damage. Now relying fully on her instincts and the faint sounds of incarnations that the chill night air carried towards her, McGonagall ran a dead race towards the safety of the castle walls and the bushes in front of it.

One of the Death Eaters must have been hiding himself behind the stand where Snape and McGonagall had taken refuge, and as soon as McGonagall had started running towards the castle, he had begun to shout curse after curse towards her. Snape couldn't help her with this Death Eater, he was in the back of the Potions master and attacking him would mean leaving the safety of his own cover.

The castle wall was close, McGonagall only had to cover a couple of metres until she could hide herself in its shadows. Then she heard it and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

"_Avada_…"

"Minerva!"

"…_Kedavra_!"

Snape's warning came just in time and without really thinking about it McGonagall dived down and threw herself on the ground. She felt the curse shooting over her, meeting nothing but air where just seconds ago her head had been. Then the wall in front of her burst into a green explosion and McGonagall quickly raised her hands to cover her eyes from the debris that started to fall all around her.

Instinctively, she crawled towards the side, so that no curse aimed at her position would be able to hit her.

The curse had not been strong enough to really damage the castle wall, but it had hit a larger hole into it and fist-sized pieces of rock had rained down all around McGonagall's body. While she was still searching for an explanation as to how she had managed to get through this without being hit by any of the curses, she suddenly remembered Snape and that he was still hiding in the Quidditch stand.

Quickly, McGonagall rose to her feet and moved a couple of metres to the side.

"Severus, NOW!"

Knowing that she needed to cover Snape's retreat McGonagall suddenly realized that she had absolutely no idea where Snape was running along. If she accidentally hit him with one of the curses meant to help him…she didn't really want to think about it. 

"Severus, I need to know where you are!"

Until she knew that, McGonagall couldn't do but shoot curses into the direction where she guessed the Death Eaters were without really aiming them. She was too afraid that she would hit Snape instead. Suddenly, she saw a small light moving towards her in zigzags. Snape had lit his wand!

With a relieved sigh, McGonagall now aimed closely at the remaining Death Eaters. Only two of them were still shooting curses at them, so either the other two had already been hit by one of their counter curses, or they had gone off in search for help. McGonagall didn't really want to think about it, if those two had really gone for help than their situation would soon become even worse.

"_Stupefy_!"

Just as she shouted this stunning spell into the distance, she heard and felt Snape jump next to her into safety. McGonagall gave him some moments to regain his breath before she addressed him.

"What do we do now?", she whispered.

Snape next to her was still panting, but after some moments he managed to reply.

"I think I stunned one, and you another. That means there are still two of them looking for us. I don't think that we'll be able to get anywhere until we've done something about them."

McGonagall nodded, then thought for a moment. They needed to get hold of the two remaining Death Eaters, and they needed to do that at a minimum personal risk. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Severus, could you lend me a hand? I think I have an idea."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Arthur sat back and buried his face in his hands. Dumbledore had just finished telling him that his youngest son was somewhere out of the safety and protection the castle provided, and he didn't like hearing this at all.

"Do you know where exactly Ron is?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"He and Hermione were at the greenhouses when we sent out the search parties. We have a map that shows the location of everybody on the castle grounds, but at the moment Alastor has it. As soon as he's back we'll check on them again, I'm sure either Sirius and Remus or Severus and Minerva have found them by now."

Arthur nodded and sat back in his chair, though what Dumbledore had told him didn't really calm him down at all. He'd be relieved only when all this was over with minimal losses and his son was back inside the castle where he belonged. And then he'd give Ron a little piece of his mind about running off alone, no doubt about that. And the boy should only wait until Molly would hear about this…Arthur sighed. He only hoped that his son would still be alive when all this was over, the possible loss of Charlie was already weighing heavily on their family, he really didn't need something else like that.

Arthur was pulled out of his thought when Alastor Moody crossed the temporary infirmary and walked straight towards Dumbledore and the others. If Moody was surprised by the presence of Hermes Wielding, he didn't really show it.

Dumbledore looked up expectantly and Moody gave him an encouraging smile.

"I think we have found a way to get rid of those Dementors."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

A smile began to play at the corners of Moody's lips.

"Well, actually it was Hermes who brought me on it when he reminded me that there is always a way to be found when you look at the most obvious places. Single Patroni aren't of any use here, we've realized that during the last hours. So I've had a little chat with Fillius here", he gestured at Professor Flitwick who was standing next to him, "and we've come up with a plan. In a couple of minutes, we'll get out there, re-organize our groups and cast the Patronus charm all at once. Fillius will add a little charm of his own and if it works – of which we are nearly convinced – then we'll have created a really large, really powerful wall of joint Patroni. That should drive those Dementors back for quite a while, if not for good."

Dumbledore looked up and some of the sparkle seemed to have returned to his blue eyes.

"It could work. No, now that I think of it, it should work. Do it just like you just said you would, I think we have a very good chance here. And then it might be easier to deal with those Death Eaters and the werewolves."

"Actually Albus, we also have an idea concerning the werewolves."

Dumbledore was clearly taken aback. Not that he had ever doubted Mad Eye Moody's ability to come up with plans that could save the day, but if he had also found a way to deal with the werewolves, then for the first time that night they would really stand a chance against Voldemort. That is, if they found Harry in time…

"What plan?"

"Well, the only problem is that Remus is still walking around out there, not knowing what we'll do. But I just hope that he'll realize in time if he encounters the Aurors later on. Albus, how much silver do you think could the house elfs organize in, let's say ten minutes?"

While the other men were putting all their effort into Moody's plans, Arthur took the piece of parchment from the old Auror's hand. He had guessed that this was the map Dumbledore had talked about, and when he spread it on the nearby table he found his suggestion confirmed.

At first all the moving dots and names confused Arthur without ends, but then he remembered Dumbledore talking about the greenhouses, and truly he discovered the name of his son moving towards the edge of the forest near them. He sighed in relief when he saw the names of those accompanying his son: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. So there might be some hope left after all.


	14. Too Much to Fight Against

_Okay, here's my regular Sunday's update for this week. It's quite a long chapter, but be warned: It's weird. I don't know how else to put it, this is the connection chapter between the part I still had to write and the ending which I've already written. So if this is weird, don't flame me. I promise it's only this chapter, the next one will be 'normal' again. Now everything is connected the way I wanted it._

_A short note on the previous chapter: **A.Dee kindly pointed out that I forgot my annotation. The text reads like this:**_

_…he was hit by sixty pounds of angry dog (*), but I didn't give you an annotation for the (*). I just wanted to say that I'm not very familiar with pounds as a measure unit, I guess it's somewhat around 30 kilos. I really don't know how big and heavy dogs can be in general, and I don't know how big and heavy Sirius is in his dog form. But I guessed he's not as heavy as he is in man-form, therefore this._

_Okay, here we go with the A/N. Fewer this week, but I posted only three days ago._

_Mary_anne__: Glad you didn't get confused. I would have, that much is for sure. But let's see about this chapter, because this really IS confusing! Sorry in advance._

_Bobbi__: Remus swearing really is a funny image, you're right about that!_

_A.Dee__: Thanks for the hint with the annotation! And there won't be silver flying around, so Remus won't be in actual danger by the Ministry. Moody's just concerned that nevertheless he might not realize in time what they're about to do._

_Leap__ of Fate: I did my best to hurry up. The prize you'll have to pay: Another cliffhanger!_

_Bookworm2000__: You alright [Gollum]? Hope this update makes you happy as well!_

_Ms.__ Issues: Remus won't really be in danger by the silver, you'll see. But are suits of armour made of silver? I thought that it was tin or cupper or something like that. Something less precious._

_solarphoenix__: Sorry, no not-cliffhanger this time!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Harry can't always disobey just because he's angry at Sirius, can he?_

_schnoogle__ reviewer: See above. Harry can't always behave like a little child. As far as the 'walking up the castle with the others' is concerned…well, the answer to that one is NO._

_Schwester__ Aurelia: Thanks again for the Patronus Idea! __That__ was great! Knuddelsofest,dassdieLuftwegbleibt! __Rest per email!_

_juggling__ stars: Well, I pulled Mad Eye Moody out of his retirement. I guess. Something like that. Let's just say that he was called back in times of need._

_So, here you go with the next chapter._

_Enjoy!_

**Too Much to Fight Against**

Sirius, Remus, Harry, Ron and Hermione finally reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest and thankfully hid under the cover of the outer tree line. Once more Harry was proven right in his suggestion that Remus and his godfather knew each other far too well to need words to communicate all the time. With a court nod towards Sirius, Remus vanished into the trees and soon was out of sight. Harry frowned in confusion.

"Where did he go?"

"Looking if there's somebody or something close to us. He should be back soon."

Harry nodded and drew his attention back towards his two friends.

"Are you alright?"

Both Ron and Hermione nodded. Ron sighed deeply.

"Yeah, if we were only back in the castle already."

Before Harry could reply to that, Sirius made a grunting sound, almost like Padfoot when he was growling.

"None of you should have left the castle in the first place, then all this would not be necessary. And as soon as Remus comes back, we'll decide what to do next."

Hermione blushed at Sirius' accusation while Ron found a sudden interest in his shoes. The immediate reply that they had only gone out to help Harry lay on the tips of their tongues, but both decided that this was surely not the right moment to start an argument about their reasons with Sirius. 

Suddenly footsteps were approaching them, but while the three teens spun around immediately and drew their wands, Sirius didn't even turn his head.

"It's only Remus."

That was all he said. And, true to his words, only a moment later Remus emerged from the trees and stepped towards them. Sirius looked up expectantly, but Remus only shrugged.

"I couldn't find a trace of anybody being close to us, but I wouldn't rely that it remains that way. We should head back towards the castle as soon as possible."

Sirius nodded while he continued to let his eyes wander across the grounds in front of them. So far, there was nobody in sight. He looked at Remus.

"We could get back behind the greenhouses easily, but that wouldn't be of much use. We can't get back in the way we came out."

Remus sighed.

"That much was clear. So it's either the longer way around towards the lake and from there to the front doors, or we head towards Hagrid's hut and try to get back in from there."

"Which could be more dangerous", Sirius added, "because that way we'll have to cross much more of the fighting area."

Sirius sighed and stared ahead, all the while scratching the back of his head absent-mindly. Harry opened his mouth to add his opinion to the discussion, he was growing more and more impatient with every minute they stayed in one place. But one glance and a gesture of Remus' hand made him close his mouth again immediately. Remus knew that Sirius was waging their options right now and it had never been a good idea to disturb Sirius Black while he was planning something. Eventually, Sirius turned towards Remus and the teens.

"We'll go towards Hagrid's hut. We'll get far closer to the battle than I'd like to, but that way is much faster and we'll be in sight of the front doors much sooner. Someone's bound to be there and keep things organized, they'll see us sooner and be able to help us in case things go wrong."

Remus nodded. 

"Alright, then let's go."

Sirius turned towards Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Okay, I want you to listen carefully now because I won't repeat it. While we're still out here, you'll do what Remus and I say, without asking questions. If we tell you to duck down, you'll do and if we tell you to run, you'll run as fast as you can. This is no field trip out here, and Remus and I know how to handle such a situation better than you do. Remus will walk ahead and I'll cover our backs. Nobody leaves the others, no running off whatever the reason. Did I make myself clear?"

The three teens nodded, far too intimidated by the sudden harsh and authoritative tone in Sirius' voice to contradict. Not that they had intended to, anyway.

Sirius nodded.

"Okay then, let's go."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"For Merlin's sake Severus, it can't be that difficult now, can it?"

Though McGonagall tried to be as quiet as possible, she sounded as if she was greatly annoyed with her partner and that annoyance showed in her voice.

"Shhh Minerva! Why don't you light your wand and get up, I think that would make it a lot easier for those two Death Eaters to find us!"

"Spare me with your sarcasm, I don't think I can take that right now! So, will you finally start moving?"

Snape sighed.

"I won't move as long as you don't come up with a plan that doesn't sound as suicidal as this!"

Both Snape and McGonagall seemed to forget their situation for a moment as they raised their voices, not really minding that this could attract the Death Eaters.

And truly, the two remaining opponents had approached the hiding place of the two professors during the last couple of minutes. First they had been searching where they could have gone off to, but then the whispering and the raised voices had been a dead giveaway. One of the Death Eaters stopped in his tracks when he discovered the bush behind which the two must be hiding. He gestured towards his partner to approach it from the right side while he took over the left. That way, there should be no possibility for the two teachers to escape them. And they still didn't seem to have realized that they were being ambushed, because the bickering continued.

"Well, at least I did come up with a plan at all while our dear Potions master just idly sat around and gazed at the stars!"

"You didn't even give me the chance to do so, you never stopped talking!"

"As if that would have ever stopped you Severus! And by the way, you should know the Death Eaters better than I ever will, so it should be a piece of cake for you to come up with a rescue plan!"

"Oh Minerva, stop that will you? I've had enough of this to last for a lifetime!"

The Death Eater grinned. This was easier than he had imagined it would be. Those two really weren't very clever, he had already neared the bush they were hiding behind and still they had not realized the danger they were in. Just a few more steps…

With a last quick glance towards his partner who was standing some feet away, he gripped his wand tighter and jumped behind the bush, the killing curse on his lips.

His eyes widened and his mouth closed as he stared at absolutely nothing behind the bush. Confusedly, he looked up and searched for his partner, but before he even had a chance to grasp what was going on, he heard a muttered _'Stupefy' and then everything went black._

Minerva McGonagall got up from her crouch and quickly moved over towards the fallen Death Eater to bind him up. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw that Snape was doing precisely the same with the one he had stunned. McGonagall used all the binding charms she could think of, just to make sure that this Death Eater would not likely be freed and pose a further threat to them. A few moments later, Snape joined her. 

"Congratulations Minerva. That plan was fabulous."

Quite surprised to hear such a praise from her colleague, Minerva managed a shy smile before she returned to the bush and retrieved two small metal objects. Returning one to Snape, she waved her wand across the other and removed the charm she had put on it. McGonagall would never openly admit it, but she considered transfiguring the clasps of their cloaks into little speakers one of her better ideas herself. That way they had been able to hide a couple of metres away while the attention of the Death Eaters had been focussed on the bush alone.

"I have to admit that I didn't like it to rely so completely on the stupidity of those two."

Snape gave a short laugh.

"My dear Minerva, stupidity is something you can nearly always rely on when facing low ranking Death Eaters. Believe me, I know what I speak of."

"I would have guessed as much. But now let's move back into the castle, I don't want to risk another encounter like that one."

Snape nodded and both continued making their way towards the main entrance, this time even more careful than the last.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was confused. At the moment, he was staring at a rapidly increasing pile of silver items which the house elves had brought into the Entrance Hall during the last couple of minutes.

Of course Dumbledore was perfectly aware of the fact that silver could kill werewolves, but by the life of him he could not imagine that Moody wanted to have the Aurors throwing around with dessert forks and goblets.

When he saw Alastor Moody approaching, he gave his old friend a very puzzled look.

"Alastor, I still don't understand what you want to do with all that silver."

"I want to protect the Aurors out there."

"I guessed as much Alastor, what I cant figure out right now is how you want to do that."

Alastor smiled while he gestured the house elves to stop bringing in more and more silver items.

"Well, I'm no expert in werewolves, but now that Remus is not here I guess we'll have to do it on our own. Fillius and I have been asking ourselves, if werewolves can be killed by silver and therefore stay away from it, why don't we equip the Aurors with it? That way, no werewolf will attack them unless he's suicidal."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, but how? I mean, you don't want them to walk around with silver goblets hanging around their necks, do you?"

Moody laughed.

"As interesting as this might sound, no I didn't plan that. I was more thinking about a full body protection. But let's begin, then I think it should become clear to you."

Moody pointed his wand onto the huge stack of silver items.

"_Dissolvere __pulvis!"  
The various items seemed to melt in front of their eyes, until only a pile of silver dust remained. Dumbledore's eyes grew a little wider. Slowly, he began to understand what Moody was about to do._

"_Dispertio __globi!"_

Again, the pile of silver started to move and one after another, silver spheres which had roughly the size of a human body formed and Moody waved them through the front door with his wand. He turned towards Dumbledore.

"We'll equip the Aurors with those, they should keep the werewolves off. As soon as they come into contact with a human body, they should settle around it like a second skin without really being visible. But the werewolves will be able to scent the silver. The silver dust should be fixed within the globes, so they should do no harm to any werewolf if they don't come too close. After all, I still have the feeling that they didn't exactly volunteer to come here, considering that it's not even full moon."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, and Remus will also be able to realize what is going on without being harmed. Alastor, it's a fantastic idea, I really think this could work."

Moody smiled.  
"Thank you Albus. And it might even help us with the Death Eaters, because if the werewolves realize that they can't attack the Aurors, they will surely search for unprotected prey. We'll give them some of their own medicine.

Let's just hope that the joint Patroni will work the way Fillius thinks they will, then we might have enough time to equip all our Aurors before our attackers have recovered."

Again, Dumbledore nodded and the two men left the castle.

Outside, Fillius Flitwick was already talking heatedly to two Aurors, but at the moment Dumbledore didn't care. His eyes wandered across the grounds, trying to estimate their situation.

Moody was right, if their plans didn't work then they would not be able to hold the castle much longer. A part of the Auror forces had already been driven back close towards the castle where they formed a double line and tried to fend off the approaching groups of Death Eaters and Dementors.

The plan of their attackers was obvious. They tried to separate the Aurors into smaller groups and get in between them and the castle, that way forcing them closer towards the Forest where the majority of the werewolves were attacking. Already a line of Aurors had formed at the edge of the forest who were completely occupied with fighting the werewolves off while their colleagues in their backs were fighting against the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore sighed. This would not become easy.

"Alastor, we will have to levitate the silver spheres towards the Aurors at the forest. I doubt that they will be able to come here and get them themselves."

Moody nodded, his face frowning concernedly.

"I know. But what worries me more is that we won't be able to warn them about the joint Patroni. If it really works, it's going to be a powerful magical blast and it will not only affect the Dementors. It could be useful if it surprises and confuses the Death Eaters, but I don't like the idea a part of our men won't be prepared as well."

"But there's no way to warn them now, let's just hope they realize that it's not an attack against them. Are we ready to start?"

Moody looked over to Flitwick who by now had stopped his discussion with the Aurors. He nodded at Moody.

"Flitwick says we're ready. All the Aurors close by should be informed, that should be enough."

Professor Flitwick climbed the stairs and stepped next to Moody and Dumbledore.

"The Aurors are ready. There will be a count to three, and then they all will cast the Patronus charm while I say the incarnation to join them together."

Both Dumbledore and Moody got their wands out and waited for the countdown. They didn't have to wait for very long. One of the Aurors who organized the forces magically magnified his voice and gave the signal.

"One – Two – Tree – NOW!"

At least two hundred voices shouted the incarnation "_Expecto __Patronum" in unison and so loud that Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice with his own incarnation could hardly be heard. But though he had hardly been heard, his incarnation seemed to have worked. Instead of single Patroni shooting out of each wizards wand, a silvery cloud began to form around their heads and slowly took the shape of a huge silvery wave that rolled across the battlefield and towards the Forbidden Forest. _

Though no single Patronus form was recognizable in the wave, it seemed to have the same effect on the Dementors than a mere Patronus by a single wizard. As soon as the wave approached the first Dementors, they started moving back as fast as they could manage. Not really caring where they went to or if they were on their own or in groups, the Dementors tried to get as far away as possible from this cloud of clenched protective positive emotion. And to say that the Death Eaters were surprised would be a real understatement. Though the Patronus wave did not harm them, it confused them nevertheless. And while the Death Eaters were still trying to find out where that sliver cloud had come from and why the Dementors had started running away, the Aurors did their best to stun and bind as many of them as the moment allowed.

Dumbledore looked at Flitwick, who positively beamed with delight, and then at Moody.

"Time for those silver spheres of yours now, Alastor. If they only work half as good as this just did, we'll really be able to stand a chance. I'll go inside now, I need to find out where Harry is now more than ever."  
Moody nodded at the old headmaster while he set off to levitating the silver spheres towards the Aurors on the battlefield.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus and the others reached Hagrid's hut without further incident. One look inside showed that Hagrid was not here right now, possibly he was off helping to fight the werewolves. Keeping in the shadow of the hut, they could clearly see the battlefield now which was illuminated by the still nearly full moon and the lights of flying curses.

One quick glance at it showed Sirius and Remus all they needed to know about their current situation. If somebody didn't come up with a good plan soon, they would stand no chance against the attackers. Though he had only been an Auror for a couple of years before he got arrested, Sirius realized that none of the standard fighting practices the Aurors were trained in would be of use here. Not with a mixture of humans, Dementors and werewolves to fight against. 

Constantly, injured, stunned or dead Aurors were being levitated towards the castle by their colleagues and the medi-wizards in front of the entrance, and with diminished numbers their chances didn't really increase. 

When Sirius looked around and looked at Remus, he found that his friend had closed his eyes, his jaw tightly clenched and his hands balled to fists. His head was slightly bent and his hair fell into his eyes.

"Remus?"

Though he spoke softly, it was loud enough to draw Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's attention towards Remus as well. Only Remus didn't react, he kept on in- and exhaling deeply as if he was desperately trying to remain calm.

"Remus?"

A little louder this time, but it was enough to finally gain Remus' attention. He raised his head and gave Sirius a weak smile.

"Moony is running amok right now, and that's put quite mildly. He feels them and he wants to get out."

While he said 'them', he nodded towards the ongoing fight, but he needn't have specified what he was talking about. Sirius knew that he could not really imagine what kind of inner battle Remus was fighting right now. Even after so many years of friendship with him, even after getting to know the wolf that surfaced once a month, Remus' somewhat split mind would forever remain a mystery to him.

"How bad is it? Can you go on?"

Remus smirked.

"Do I have any other choice? Just give me a moment."

Sirius nodded and focussed his attention to the question of how to continue from here on. The main entrance of the castle was in sight, but so was the battlefield. Just running straight towards it would not be the wisest choice, the chance that they could be seen by the Death Eaters were far too big. He turned around.

"We won't be able to walk towards the castle in a straight line, that would be far too dangerous. We'll walk a curve to the right, towards that group of trees and from there to the castle. Then along the castle wall towards the entrance. That seems the most secure option right now. Ready?"

The three teens nodded and when Sirius looked at Remus, his friend also gave him an affirmative movement of the head.

"Let's go!"

Remus again ran in front, Harry, Ron and Hermione behind him while Sirius covered their backs. The small group of trees Sirius had chosen as their first stop was maybe four hundred metres away and while they ran, Sirius kept a close eye on the castle entrance whenever possible. Already during their stop at Hagrid's hut he had seen Dumbledore standing on the front steps. His long beard and the white hair had made it easy to identify him even though he was still quite far away. Next to him stood Moody, a man Sirius would recognize anywhere. After all, he had been his teacher at the Auror training. For a short moment, Sirius had considered to attract their attention so that they could send help, but he had quickly pushed that thought aside. That would only attract unwanted attention towards them as well.

But just as they had started running towards the group of trees, something was happening in front of the castle. Sirius heard someone counting down, then an incarnation shouted by many voices and then something happened which Sirius had never seen before. A huge wave of some silvery fog built up and raced across the grounds. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, and so did Remus and the children. All five of them stared at what was happening with wide eyes.

"Remus, do you know what that is?"

Remus shook his head.

"I've never seen something like that before. But it came from the direction of the castle, so I don't think it's the work of the Death Eaters. Rather something Dumbledore and Moody have come up with."

They were interrupted in their rambling about what this wave precisely was when Harry suddenly started speaking.

"I think I know what this is."

The two adults spun around. Sirius looked at his godson with a very puzzled expression.

"What?"

"I don't know exactly, but it seems to drive away the Dementors. Just look!"

When they did just that, they saw what Harry meant. From everywhere on the battlefield, Dementors came running in front of the wave, desperately trying to get away from it. Most of them ran into the Forbidden Forest, some took the way around the lake and a small group of them…

"They're coming towards us! Ron, Hermione, Harry, run towards the trees now!"

They started running again, trying to reach the cover of the trees so that at least their backs were covered when they had to confront the Dementors. The Patronus wave had scared the Dementors back, surely, but the wave had vanished by now and though the Dementors had no intention of going back to where they came from, they would never let the opportunity to suck the emotions out of such an easy prey let pass unused. And truly, the group of maybe nine or ten Dementors slightly changed their course and ran towards them as soon as they sensed their presence.

"Ron, Hermione, keep running towards the trees and wait for us there. Don't leave without us, understood?"

The two nodded and continued to run while Remus, Harry and Sirius slowed down and turned around. The Dementors were already close to them, they didn't have much more time before they would be too close for comfort. Remus shot his friend a concerned glance.

"Ready Sirius?"

Sirius kept a straight face, but Remus realized that his jaw was clenched together very tight and the hand that held his wand outstretched was shaking slightly.

"I won't have more time to get ready, will I?"

"No. But if that was really some kind of Patronus force just some minutes ago, then it might not need very much to give those Dementors here the rest. Let's just do it."

Sirius nodded and after they all had taken a final deep breath, they shouted the incarnation in unison.

"_Expecto __Patronum!"_

Harry's silver stag immediately started racing towards the Dementors, followed by a comet out of Sirius' wand and…Padfoot? He couldn't clearly tell, but the large, bear-like silver dog that came out of Remus' wand looked suspiciously like the animagus form of his godfather. He would have to ask Remus about that later. (**)

For the moment it was only important that their Patroni started chasing the already weakened Dementors away. The stag and the dog were attacking them viciously while the comet zoomed around their heads and prevented the Dementors from attacking again. It didn't take much until the creatures decided that this prey wasn't worth its price and started running off.

The Patroni vanished and Sirius let out a deep sigh of relief. It pained him to admit such a weakness, but the presence of Dementors still made him shaky and sick. Not that he though this would ever improve again, twelve years in their close proximity was more than enough for a human lifetime, animagus or not.

Just as he was about to look up and suggest to join Ron and Hermione in the cover of the trees, he heard Remus shout.

"Harry, get down!"

Then an arm grabbed him across the chest and dragged him unceremoniously to the ground. He felt rather than saw the curse shooting over him, but he realized that it would have hit him had Remus not reacted in time. So the Death Eaters had found them.

"Fuck! Harry, are you alright?"

"Yes."

Sirius nodded. That at least was something. As quickly as he could, he got back to his feet and immediately moved into a defence position. Old reflexes don't die just because you didn't use them for quite some time. Next to him, Remus did the same and together they stood protectively in front of Harry. Even though the moon illuminated the scene, he could not make out where that curse had come from. His wand raised, ready to react anytime, Sirius looked around trying to find their attackers.

"Remus, do you see something?"

"No."

"Let's try to get to Hermione and Ron, I don't like the idea that they're out here alone."

"Right. Harry, stay as close to us as possible. If you see something, stun it immediately."

"Okay."

Harry was surprised how firm his voice sounded, because at that moment he didn't really feel courageous. He slowly began to realize that no matter how often he had been confronted with Death Eaters and even Voldemort himself before, this situation was completely different. They were alone out here, clearly outnumbered and didn't even know where their attackers were hiding. Willing his hands to stop shaking, Harry gave Sirius an affirmative nod and they set off.

They started making their way towards the group of trees, each of them looking out into a different direction for any sign of movement.

But then everything happened nearly too fast for them to react.

Another curse was shot at them and a group of hooded men came out from under the group of trees where Ron and Hermione were supposed to hide behind.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Valeria Salenin had been watching the progress of their forces from a spot near the lake, her body hidden in the shadows of the trees. Inwardly, she had congratulated herself already. The werewolves had proven to be the force which the Ministry had neither expected tonight nor had they any useful means against them. Surely, single werewolves had been stunned and killed by now, but not before they had done more than equal harm to the Ministry Aurors.

Some minutes ago however, Valeria's mood had changed significantly. Whatever that old fool up there in the school had come up with, it had been a very successful plan to get rid of the Dementors. They didn't really need the Dementors to succeed against Dumbledore and the Ministry, but they had been a very useful mean to confuse the Ministry wizards.

This had been a setback, no doubt about that, but what worried Valeria even more was the movement that had taken place ever since the Dementors had been scared off. From the entrance of the castle, the Ministry wizards levitated some kind of spheres around the battlefield towards their Aurors. Valeria didn't really know what kind of spheres that were, but she didn't have a very good feeling about this. 

As if to prove her suspicions right, hurried steps towards her turned her attention away from the battle for a moment. Soon she recognized the approaching man as Walden McNair, and his expression was one of pure horror and fear. He didn't even bow or acknowledge her superior role like he had always done before. 

"McNair?"

The man came to a halt next to her, resting his hands on his knees in an attempt to regain his breath. When he finally managed to speak, his words drew all the blood out of Valeria's face.

"Salenin, you have to call back those werewolves!"

"McNair, how do imagine that? I can't call them back, I have no control over them anymore."

McNair's eyes widened in horror as he looked straight into the Potions mistresses eyes.

"Would you care to tell me why you come running up to me with such a ridiculous idea?"

McNair sighed.

"We don't know exactly, but it seems as if Dumbledore and his men are equipping their Aurors with protection globes made of silver dust. And if the werewolves realize that they can't attack them anymore, they'll attack our own men. You have to do something!"

Valeria shrugged her shoulders, not betraying the inner turmoil that was raging in her. Within a few moments, all her hopes and plans had been shattered. She knew exactly that if things went wrong tonight, the Dark Lord would definitely not reward her in any way.

"I already told you McNair, there is nothing I can do about them. While we were guarding the werewolves, they had been chained and manacled magically. But right now there's no control over them until the potion wears off."

"How long?"

"Not before dawn."

McNair buried his face in his hands. This was not what he had expected when he had come here that night. They had been so sure that Dumbledore and the Ministry would never come up with a real plan against werewolves and Dementors, and now this.

Valeria was thinking along the same lines. Now that the Aurors were probably protected against the werewolf attacks, with the Dementors gone, their success would rely completely on the competence and fighting abilities of the Death Eaters. Something Valeria Salenin didn't really want to rely on. She knew that she had two options right now.

One would be to stay and endure whatever was to come, possibly even facing the wrath of the Dark Lords when his plans would fail because of the failure of the werewolves and the Death Eaters.

The second would be to get away from Hogwarts grounds and return only when Voldemort's plans didn't fail. This option seemed to be by far the better one, there was only one problem about it. She could not need a witness for the fact that she had left the battlefield. But that wasn't really much of a problem.

Drawing out her wand, Valeria pointed it somewhere at the still ongoing battle.

"Well, I think there is something I can do."

McNair raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

Valeria allowed herself to smile.

"Getting away until it is clear which ending this night will take."

Before McNair was even able to process that little piece of information, Valeria turned her wand at McNair.

"_Avada __Kedavra!"_

With an astonished look on his face, McNair fell to the ground and didn't move anymore. Valeria drew a little box from out the pocket of her robes, opened it and touched the portkey inside. In the blink of an eye, Valeria Salenin had vanished from Hogwarts grounds.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron and Hermione ran as fast as they could towards the group of trees Sirius had indicated. They knew that they were not much of a help when facing the Dementors, because even though they had tried really hard, both had not been able to produce a steady Patronus. Panting, they finally reached the shelter of the trees and hid under them. It was only a small group of trees, maybe four or five of them with some undergrowth of bushes, but for the moment it provided enough shelter. They could not be spotted as easily as if they would be running openly across the plains.

They turned back towards their friends just in time to witness the final moments in which the Patroni drew the remaining Death Eaters away. Hermione let out a sigh of relief.

"The Dementors are gone. Let's wait for the others and then hurry back into the castle, I don't intend to stay here for very much longer."

When she heard no reply from Ron, Hermione turned towards her friend.

"Ron?"

"Hermione, follow me. Quickly!"

Not waiting for her reply, Ron grabbed her hand and started pulling her away. Hermione was about to protest, about to tell Ron that Sirius had explicitly told them to stay put and not move on without the adults when she saw the group of Death Eaters that were approaching their hiding place.

They had not spotted the two teens yet, they seemed to be focussed on hiding their presence from Harry, Sirius and Remus, but if they didn't get away fast, their discovery would only be a matter of moments.

Ron and Hermione ducked down as far as possible and quickly tried to bring some distance between themselves and the Death Eaters. They reached a small grass hill, not really big enough to hide behind but enough for the moment to duck down for a moment and look back. Turning around both Ron and Hermione continued walking steadily backwards, not taking their eyes off the group of Death Eaters.

That is, until Hermione ran into something solid. Not solid enough to be a tree or a wall, but more solid in the meaning of 'another human body'.

"My, my. Now look what we got here."

Hearing the stranger's voice, Ron spun around and drew his wand, only to find Hermione in the firm grip of a single Death Eater who had pointed his wand at her throat. Ron could not see the Death Eater's face, but he was fairly sure that the man was grinning behind his mask.

"I wouldn't do as much as flinch if I were you, or your little girlfriend here will be dead before she hits the ground. Thought I didn't see you sneaking off, didn't you? You still have very much to learn about battles, but I'm afraid there won't be any opportunity for you. Now put your wand down!"

Not wanting to endanger Hermione, Ron obediently did as he was told and put his wand onto the grass in front of him. But if he was right in his suspicion, then the Death Eater was alone and maybe they could stand a chance against him.

The Death Eater nodded.

"Good. And now I'll take you back to the others. Couldn't let you wander around here alone now, could I? It's far too dangerous."

Ron didn't really listen to what the man was saying, his eyes were locked with Hermione's. If only she could get out of the man's reach, then he could take back his wand and stun that bastard.

"Move!"

The Death Eater nodded at Ron to start walking back into the direction of the trees and just as he was about to turn around, Hermione seized her chance.

The Death Eater had slightly loosened the grip he had on her while his attention had been focussed on Ron, and praying that Ron would react quickly she spun around and smashed her knee full force into the man's groin. The Death Eater stiffened, stunned at what had happened, and then with a last summoning of his physical strength pushed Hermione forcefully to the ground before he sank to his knees and whimpered.

It nearly happened to fast for Ron to react. He saw Hermione kicking the man where it really hurt, but before he could sympathize with the pain the Death Eater had to be feeling, he made a dive for his wand, pointed it at the Death Eater and stunned him.

"_Stupefy!"_

The Death Eater sank to the ground and Ron quickly put every binding charm he could think of on him.

Then he quickly ran to Hermione's side who by now had moved into a sitting position and held her hand against her forehead. Blood was oozing out from between her fingers.

"Hermione!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Wormtail and his partner slowly emerged the forest behind Hagrid's hut. He knew that it was planned to lure James' son out of the castle, and it was his job to check whether he was alone or not. Sooner or later Harry would head into the direction of the forest, that much he had been told, and he was not allowed to enter if he was not alone. 

Wormtail only hoped that neither Sirius nor Remus was accompanying him, not those two. That would be the worst scenario he could imagine.

The guard next to him had been silent for most of the evening, not reacting to anything Wormtail said. Of course he knew that the guards had been put under the Imperious Curse some time ago now, but he had never imagined that the Curse would prevent them from talking like that.

Not that he really cared for what the guard would have to tell, but Wormtail was nervous and some distraction would do him good. 

But as he scanned the grounds in front of him now, he realized that the time for distraction was over now anyway.

There he was.

James' son. Harry.

And Sirius and Remus were with him. Blasted luck, it was never on his side. Well, that could not be helped right now. First they had to deal with the Death Eaters, and then he would take care of Sirius and Remus if still necessary.

He turned towards his partner.

"Remain hidden behind the hut, there's no need for them to see that I'm not alone. Remember, we just have to get Sirius and Remus away from the Potter boy. You won't interfere unless I get captured and it's absolutely necessary."

The man nodded and silently moved into the shadows behind the hut.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Hermione, are you alright?"

Ron quickly crossed the distance between himself and his girlfriend, who sat on the ground and held a hand to her face, hiding a rather nasty bleeding cut behind her hands. When she saw Ron running towards her, she tried to rise to her feet, noticing rather startled that they didn't seem to support her weight anymore. 

"Whoa, Hermione! Take it slow!"

Within an instant, Ron was by her side and supported her with an arm around her waist. Under this joint effort, Hermione managed to rise to her feet.

"That looks rather nasty."

Hermione removed her hand from her forehead and frowned at the amount of blood that covered her digits.

"I hit my head on a stone when that Death Eater threw me to the ground. But head wounds always bleed rather nastily, it's not serious. I only need some moments to get my balance back, the impact was quite hard."

Ron quickly muttered a healing charm to stop the bleeding and then checked Hermione for further injuries. Luckily they were not in the middle of the battle field and could afford a short moment to regain their strength. Hermione didn't seem to be injured, and Ron just was about to ask her whether she knew where the others were, when he realized the shocked look on her face, followed quickly by a shout.

"Ron, watch out!"

Ron spun around as fast as he could, raised his wand and screamed _'Stupefy!' without thinking twice. A bolt of red light shot from his wand and the werewolf that had just made an attempt to leap at the two youths fell out of the air in mid-jump. He hit the frosty ground with a 'thump' and lay there, unmoving. Ron exhaled deeply and he felt Hermione grasping his arm tightly._

"I just want to know how they managed to get those werewolves attacking in a non-full-moon night, I really do."

He shook his head, then quickly scanned the area around them for further attackers before he turned back to Hermione.

"Do you know where the others are? Harry, Sirius and Remus? We have to get back to them."

Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know. I don't want to imagine what happened when the Death Eaters found them. Do you think we should get back to the group of trees and look for them there?"

Ron shook his head.

"I don't think we should. Somehow, I don't have a very good feeling about this, we'd walk directly into their arms in case they have overwhelmed the others."

Hermione nodded thoughtful.

"Maybe we should walk a larger curve and get back to Hagrid's hut. If the others are still where we left them, we can easily see if they're alright and help them if necessary without being seen ourselves."

Ron nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. Let's go."

Quickly they made their way back to Hagrid's hut, which they had left only half an hour ago. They took a slightly longer way, but one that guaranteed at least more protection from unwanted eyes. Both moved as fast as they could, but keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings all the time.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius had inwardly cursed himself when he had realized that he they had lost sight of Ron and Hermione again. They had been supposed to stay together, and the thought that the two of them were somewhere in the middle of this, alone, didn't please him at all. They weren't fully qualified yet, no matter how clever and courageous they might be, Remus and he had been supposed to keep an eye on them.

Now he was even more determined not to lose Harry as well. He, his godson and Remus currently stood back to back, each of them shooting curses at the approaching groups of Death Eaters. Sirius didn't even want to imagine what the situation was like right in the middle of this, if it was already so straining on the edge of the battlefield. Somewhere in there his colleagues, Arabella, Moody, and all the others had to be struggling even harder with the Death Eaters and the werewolves than they did here.

Sirius had been quite surprised to see that Remus didn't seem to think twice how he should react towards the attacking werewolves, though Moony must be giving him a tough inner struggle still. After all, this was his first encounter with werewolves while actually being human, ever since he was five and had become one of them himself. Sirius knew very well that Remus more than anybody else thought about their human sides that were hidden somewhere within those beasts. Nevertheless, Remus had not hesitated to Avada Kedavra a werewolf that had tried to launch himself on Sirius while he was busy fighting off a Death Eater. Well, Sirius was a part of Moony's pack, and Moony would never allow anybody to hurt his pack mate, but still Sirius knew that this would be occupying his friend for quite a long time. Right now, Remus wasn't thinking, he was merely reacting, and Sirius was even a little scared when he tried to imagine what kind of nightmares would be plaguing his friend when he finally had the time to think about what he had done.

He was pulled out of his chain of thought when he realized that one of the few remaining attackers had just thrown a Full Body Bind towards him. 

With the quick reflexes of a past time Quidditch player, he dodged it and also managed to pull Harry aside in the process, so that the curse would not hit him instead.

'Constant Vigilance, Black! Keep your thoughts in the here and now for fuck's sake!'

Sirius smiled briefly when he realized that he had scolded himself with the exact words that his former teacher Mad Eye Moody had used, so many years ago, during his Auror training.

Quickly, he threw a series of hexes and curses towards that Death Eater and then stunned and bound him, before he turned around towards his godson and Remus. 

Both appeared to be unharmed and apparently, there were no more Death Eaters attacking them at the moment. Harry was about to bind one he had just stunned, but with a quick glance over his shoulder to check that Harry and Sirius weren't in danger anymore, Remus suddenly started running off towards the figure of a lone Death Eater who stood maybe fifty feet away from them and watched the battle from under a tree behind Hagrid's hut. Sirius recognized him immediately and started sprinting behind his friend, forgetting everything else around him.

"Wormtail!"

Their former fellow Marauder saw them approaching and tried to run away, but Remus quickly reacted and threw the jelly legs curse at him. Wormtail fell to the ground, looked frantically around as if in search for help and then desperately tried to crawl away into safety. He was stopped by a boot that was pressed into his back.

"Now, where do you want to go Peter? Don't want to greet two old friends?"

A sharp kick into his ribs turned him around and he found himself face to face with his former best friends, both looking furiously down at him, their wands pointing at his heart.

"Sirius…Remus…I…I didn't do anything…I just wanted to…"

"DIDN'T DO ANYTHING???"

Even Remus flinched a little at Sirius' outburst.

"What do you mean you didn't do anything? You still don't understand what you have caused with your cowardice, do you? And now you want to run away again, desperately trying to get away from facing the consequences."

"No…listen Sirius, I…I just wanted to…"

Another kick in his ribcage shut Peter up rather effectively.

"What did you just want to? Run to your master to lead him to Harry another time? Help him kill the boy? That's what you wanted?"

Peter said nothing but lay panting on the floor, while Sirius suddenly started looking around searchingly. Upon seeing Wormtail, he had completely forgotten about Harry! 

"Remus, can you deal with Peter alone? I'll look for Harry, he shouldn't be on his own out here, I need to get him to Dumbledore. Just stun that rat and then bring him inside."

"Sure Padfoot, just go. I think I won't have too many problems with Pete here. Just be careful."

Sirius nodded and ran off towards the place where he had last seen his godson. Truly, Harry still refused to talk to him and hadn't seemed too pleased at all when Dumbledore had told him to stay close to his godfather, but whatever reason Harry had for his sudden aversion against his godfather, Sirius didn't intend to leave him alone in the middle of battle.

He sighed in relief when he saw Harry still standing where he had last seen him but then drew a sharp breath when he realized who was standing next to him. It could not be, could it? Why? How?

But if he hadn't gone completely mad, then James was really standing there, talking to Harry as if it was the most normal thing in the world for somebody who was now fifteen years dead.

Sirius was even more surprised when James started running into the Forbidden Forest and Harry without hesitation ran behind him, but without a second thought Sirius followed them.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Harry! Harry, you've got to listen to me, son."

Harry looked up from the body of the Death Eater he had just recently stunned and inwardly made a step backwards when he saw the figure of his father standing in front of him. Quickly, he glanced all around, checking if somebody else had noticed James standing there or if he was merely imagining things again. After all, the last time that he had seen his father so clearly, he had been fast asleep in the hospital wing.

But all around him, though some distance away, everybody was far too engaged in the heated battle to pay the two lone figures any attention at all.

Finally, Harry's eyes settled back on the figure of his father, a questioning look evidently shown in them.

"Dad? Why are you here?"

His father smiled and, as if already guessing his son's next question, answered it.

"No Harry, this is not your imagination playing tricks on you. This is real. I'm here to bring you away from the battle."

Harry frowned his forehead.

"But…why? I mean, I have to get back into the castle to Dumbledore."

James just shook his head.

"No Harry, you don't understand. You have to leave now. This is not your battle, it's theirs to fight. You are needed somewhere else, don't you understand? Harry, you're the only person who can defeat Voldemort, you need to get to him before it's too late."

Now it was Harry's turn to shake his head.

"No Dad, you don't understand. I can't go alone, I have to wait for Dumbledore. Without him, I won't be able to fight Voldemort, I don't know the right spell. I have to wait for him."

But James practically ignored his son and pulled him away from the battlefield in front of the castle.

"You can't wait for Dumbledore, it'll be far too late before he arrives. And you don't need him Harry, not with me there to help you. Lily and I will be there to help you, that will be enough."

Whatever reluctance had been left in Harry melted away at those words and quickly he fell into a running pace, trying to keep up with the vanishing figure of his father who ran towards the Forbidden Forest.

Neither of the two realized that another figure was following them, not very far behind.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

When Ron and Hermione arrived at Hagrid's hut, they realized that they were not alone. Instead, they were faced with the sight of Remus, who lay on the ground and struggled hard against the hold of the man above him. Both stopped dead in their tracks. After he had overcome his initial shock, Ron couldn't but wonder about this strange situation. Remus was far stronger than he looked, and the Death Eater merely pinned him down with one arm across his throat, so why didn't he try to defend himself? Next to him, Hermione stared at the pair of wizards as well, obviously going through the same line of thought than Ron.

Ron took a closer look at the Death Eater, and suddenly he understood.

"Holy shit!"

With that exclamation, Ron once again broke into a dead run and crossed the remaining distance between himself and the two fighting men, not even realizing that Hermione followed closely behind.

Using the advantage of their unnoticed arrival, Ron managed to push the Death Eater away from his fallen teacher. The man fell back and landed rather heavily on the ground, his hood falling back in the process.

One look into the face of the man confirmed Ron's former suggestion. It was indeed Peter Pettigrew, and he had pinned Remus down with his silver arm across his throat, which explained why the werewolf had not been able to free himself from that assault.

Ron pointed his wand straight at Pettigrew's heart.

"I wouldn't do as much as flinch if I were you. Otherwise your poor existence will be over in an instant."

Ron's voice held all the hatred one could have for the man who had killed his best friend's parents, framed his friend's godfather and then had happily lived on for the next twelve years as his own pet, and obviously Pettigrew understood that he could not expect any mercy, especially not from Ron.

Without moving his eyes from Wormtail, Ron called over his shoulder for Hermione.

"Mione, is Remus okay?"

Hermione, who had just managed to move Remus up into a sitting position so that he could breathe more easily, looked up.

"I think it's gonna take some time. He can't breathe properly yet, he definitely needs to see a doctor. His throat's all red and swollen."

Ron nodded solemnly.

"Bring him into the castle, will you? I will deal with _'Scabbers' here."_

He spit the nickname for his former pet out in disgust and Hermione was about to help the still panting Remus to his feet, when a voice from the side of Hagrid's hut interrupted them.

"I don't think that you will deal with anybody, Ron."

Both Ron and Hermione spun around towards the source of the voice and sighed in relief when the familiar figure of another red head came around the corner of the hut. At the moment when he realized which family member it actually was, Ron totally forgot about Pettigrew and ran towards his brother.

"You're alive!"

But he stopped once more dead in his track when he saw the look in his brother's eyes. Brown eyes meeting equally brown ones, but one pair was empty, cold and dull while the other was wide with disbelief.

"Charlie?" Ron asked quietly. "Charlie, what's wrong?"

Charlie Weasley stepped out of the shadow of the hut and, much to Hermione's and Remus' shock, raised his wand straight towards his brother's heart.

_(**) Padfoot as Remus' Patronus is an idea **Schwester**** Aurelia gave me. Thanks to you, Tine! The reason? Well, I was quite fed up with it always being a wolf in other fanfics, especially since the werewolf curse isn't something Remus is happy about, let alone feels protected by. And because we don't really know that much about Remus from canon except that he's a close friend of Sirius, I chose Padfoot. **_

_And before you start to argue: NO, this is no slash story, especially not only because of the form of Remus' Patronus. For those of you who are still not satisfied with my explanation – wait a little. It will be explained better in a later chapter of the story._

_Speaking of which: The next chapters won't be that long, just to prepare you. They'll be a lot shorter actually._


	15. Sacrificing What He Loves Most

_Okay, okay, I know that I only posted yesterday evening, but I promise this will be the last post of the year. *g*_

_Okay, not that much of a threat here, but I got back to my The Last Marauder Syndrome. I'm just so eager to post this chapter that I didn't want to wait for some days more. But the next update will have to wait until the end of the week, I'm afraid. I'm also afraid that again I'm leaving on a cliffhanger. NO, DON'T SCROLL DOWN NOW! Spoil-sports!_

_The good news is that this chapter became longer than I thought, so I'm not keeping to my promise of shorter chapters._

_And I don't think I'll hear too many complaints about it, will I?_

_Here for the A/N, some of you are pretty fast with their reviews!_

_A.Dee__: Not really a Death Eater. Not willingly, and certainly not with a Dark Mark! Read and find out! As for James – You'll see in this chapter. And Valeria…let's say that's she's chickened out. She's waiting which side will win, and then she'll decide what to do._

_sarahpeach__: I would have liked to know what you thought I was driving at with the James thing, because after this chapter the mystery will be solved and I can't check whether you were truly right about it. I'll have to rely on your word and hope that I was not too obvious about it. _

_I already have more chapters than I thought, I estimated 14 chapters maximum only some time ago. Right now the story has got 180 pages in Word, and the ending will take another 30 to 50 pages. I guess it'll be three or four more chapters, depending on whether I chose to write an epilogue. There won't be a sequel to this story, the title hints at that. But I'll continue writing and already have one or more new plot bunnies sitting on my shoulders. So don't worry! I'll be back! And there's still more ahead in this story!_

_Leap__ of Fate: Okay, no shorter chapter! But this one only got so long because I had already written parts of it. You're right, I also have a life. Though I sometimes wonder where I put it. *g* No more PoV changes here, at least not many, but they're not so important anymore._

_Mary_anne__: Okay, you guessed. I won't tell you if you're right, but if you read, you'll soon find out! Promise! And no more reasons to get confused, at least no PoV changes._

_solarphoenix__: Thank you so much! But I'd bet that after some times people would try and kill me because of those cliffhangers! But thanks anyway!_

_kingofcliffy__: Thanks you so much! I'm really flattered that you liked my stories so much. Hope I don't disappoint you in the end. But you should like this chapter, at least your name hints at it!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: No. But you're right in kicking Wormtail. Though I have some compassion left, after all he's been crucioed from here to North Pole and back again! Nah, not really._

_SilverMoon__: Here you go, I was really fast this time! And the answers to all your questions (at least the ones you posed) are in the following chapter!_

_Bookworm2000__: Read and find out! But – you sure you're alright? Sure that there has been no long suffering under Cruciatus somewhere in your immediate past? Because part of that review remained somewhat a mystery to me._

_Lisette__: It seems I'm the only one who gets confused. And that by my own story! HELP! But anyway, here you go!_

_Ms.__ Issues: Glad you liked the Patronus thing. It will be explained even more later on. And Charlie and James were meant to shock my readers! Mwhahahaha! But you'll find your answers in this chapter!_

_Whoa, you're all really great! I can never thank you enough!_

_And as a little reward: Here you go with the next chapter. I'd be glad if you kept on reviewing, but I'm sure that after this chapter you will. Next chapter on Thursday evening (German Time) if things go as planned. For now:_

_Enjoy!_

**Sacrificing What He Loves Most…**

After what seemed like an eternity, McGonagall and Snape reached the entrance to the castle again. Both had witnessed the effects of the joint Patroni, and though both didn't really know what to make of the strange spheres that had been levitated across the battlefield shortly afterwards, they had seen that it somehow helped in the fight against the werewolves. However, Snape was more than intrigued and could hardly wait for Dumbledore's explanation. 

McGonagall on the other hand was, though being glad to be back in the castle again, still worried about Ron and Hermione. Truly, she and Snape could be glad that they had gotten back unharmed, but the two under aged wizards were still somewhere out there, alone if Remus and Sirius had not found them.

With a short greeting nod towards the Auror that still guarded the castle entrance, both Professors hurried into the Great Hall in search of the headmaster.

They found him standing together with Arthur Weasley, Hermes Wielding and Mad Eye Moody at the other end of the Great Hall which now truly fulfilled his purpose as an infirmary. Dumbledore glanced up when both hurried near, curiously taking in their discarded robes and dirty faces.

"Minerva, Severus. What happened?"

With a deep sigh, McGonagall gave him a short account of what they had witnessed out of the castle. With a frown she admitted that they had not been able to find Ron and Hermione, but Dumbledore gave her a short smile at that.

"As far as we know, Sirius and Remus are with them and they should be back here in no time. Now, why don't I tell you in the meantime what happened here while you were away? Thanks to two brilliant ideas from Alastor and Fillius, we were able to equalize things a little."

Both Professors nodded and Dumbledore quickly informed them about the joint Patroni and the silver spheres. Even Snape could not hide the fact that he was impressed by what Flitwick and Moody had done, no matter how hard he tried to keep an impassive face.

McGonagall sank into a chair with a sigh.

"As glad as I am to hear that Albus, but still the problem remains that Potter is not back in the castle yet, and we still don't know whether the Dark Lord will show up at all, or whether he'll just sit back and wait what his forces can manage here."

Dumbledore nodded and looked around in the room.

"I know Minerva. Though I'm not really worried whether Voldemort will make an appearance or not, but Sirius and Remus should be back with the children by now. Does anybody know where that map is?"

Everybody shook their heads, but then Arthur spoke.

"I had it over there on the table when I checked whether Ron and Hermione had been found by now."

He quickly got up and showed the old headmaster where he had used the piece of parchment some time ago. Both men bent over the map, shortly followed by a rather curious Snape. It took some moments for Dumbledore to find what he searched for, and when his eyes finally found the little dot that was marked 'Harry Potter', he drew in a sharp take of breath. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin weren't with him right now, and neither were Ron and Hermione. But nevertheless Harry was not alone. He was heading towards the Forbidden Forest together with another person. Dumbledore visibly blanched when he read the name of the person that was with Harry and so did Snape. Dumbledore quickly straightened, grabbed the map and started to hurry out of the hall.

"I have to go, there's no time left. Let's just hope that I still find them in time!"

With these words, the old wizard left the Great Hall and hurried out in search of Harry Potter. Snape turned back towards Minerva and tried to explain to her what the map had shown.

Arthur didn't seem to notice this. His eyes were still glued to the spot where the map had been lying some seconds ago. While Dumbledore had been busy searching for Harry, he himself had looked out for the whereabouts of his youngest son. He had been slightly surprised that neither Ron nor Hermione were still with Harry, but then he had found their location near Hagrid's hut. Remus was with them, and so was the by now infamous Peter Pettigrew, but that was not what had upset Arthur that much. There had been a fifth dot near Hagrid's hut, a dot that had been labelled 'Charlie Weasley'.

Forcing himself back into reality and pushing all questions aside for later, Arthur Weasley jumped off his chair and ran out of the Great Hall.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Charlie? Charlie, what's wrong?"

Ron's voice was breaking. Why did his brother threaten him with his wand? Didn't he recognize him?

"Charlie?"

Still, he received no answer. He simply couldn't understand what was going on here.

Behind him, he heard Remus make a desperate attempt to say something. Hermione bent down next to her Professor.

"You shouldn't try to speak, you need to see a doctor."  
But Remus feverishly shook his head. He knew exactly what was going on with Charlie and he knew that Ron was in extreme danger, especially if he didn't know what was going on. Remus himself had seen those signs more often than he liked to remember. Desperately willing his vocal chords to work just for this one word, he croaked out.

"Imperious."

There, he had done it. He just hoped that Hermione would understand what he meant and warn Ron about it, otherwise he might do something Charlie would regard as a threat.

Hermione stared at him somewhat flabbergasted, but after some seconds understanding dawned on her face. She quickly jumped to her feet.

"Ron, Charlie is under Imperious."

Ron turned around and gave her a startled look, but Charlie's bellowing voice made him spin around again.

"I told you not to move!"

Inside of Charlie's head, a huge scale of contradicting thoughts fought for dominance. His orders were clear, he had to kill everybody who got in Pettigrew's way. But then why did he hesitate to kill that boy in front of him?

_//Kill him! He's a threat! Kill him, the girl and the other man. Do it!\\_

Automatically, his right hand, the hand that held the wand, moved up again and he aimed the wand straight at the boy's heart. He would say the words, and then it would be over.

"Charlie? Charlie, you have to fight it."

Ron had overcome his initial shock and suddenly he realized what was going on here. Charlie was under the Imperious Curse and he was about to kill them. He needed to convince his brother to fight the curse.

"You don't want to do it Charlie, you have to fight the curse!"

As soon as the boy had started to speak, all of Charlie's determination had been wiped away. Why could he not have shut up, then all this would be over by now.

_//Kill him.__ You know you have to. Just say the words and it will be over. Just say them, you know that you want it to be over. Say the words and it will all be over.\\_

"Charlie, I know that you don't want to do it. It seems the easiest way, but you don't want to do it. Fight it."

_//Kill him! It won't be over until you do it. Kill him, what is it to you? Just two simple words. DO IT!\\_

"I know you can fight it Charlie, I know that you can throw the curse off! You don't want to kill me, don't listen to anything that tells you otherwise!"

_//Don't listen to him! You know your orders. He's in the way, he is a threat, he has to be killed. Now do it! It's just two words. Avada…\\_

"Avada…"

"Charlie, don't! You have to fight the curse, or do you want to wake up and find out that you've killed your own brother? It would be the easiest way for now to follow your orders and kill me, but try to imagine what it would feel like when you finally have your senses back together! You don't want to kill me, I know that. I'm your brother, you want to protect me, not kill me! Fight it Charlie, I know that you can do it!"

Ron sounded desperate now.

Charlie hesitated. He knew that he wanted to just say the Killing Curse so that it was finally over. This pressure was driving him mad. But something still held him back, a nagging doubt that the boy had planted into his mind with his last words.

But the shrill voice inside of his mind started to scream unbearably now.

_//Kill him! Just get over with it. It'll all be easier once you've done it! SAY IT! Avada Kedavra! Say it!"_

"Avada…"

"Charlie, for Merlin's sake listen to me! You don't want to do that! I'm your brother! You love me, you don't want to kill me! I love you Charlie, you're my brother! Do you really want to kill me?"

_//Yes you do!\\_

'Why?'

Where that question suddenly had come from, Charlie could not tell. But he knew that he didn't have an answer. Why should he kill the boy? Why should he kill his own brother? His brother? Merlin, what was he doing here? He was trying to kill Ron, his baby-brother! 

Stunned by this realization, Charlie lowered his wand and sank to his knees. His wand fell from suddenly limp fingers and he couldn't help but starting to sob beyond any control.

Ron was by his side in an instant, he fell to his knees next to his older brother and took his shivering body into his arms.

"Shhh, it's okay Charlie. Nothing's happened. You threw it off, it's okay."

Hermione and Remus both let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding, but Remus' attention was quickly distracted when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Wormtail! They had completely forgotten about him ever since Charlie had turned up. 

Still not trusting his own voice to say any incarnation at all, he grabbed the sleeve of Hermione's robe and tugged hard. As soon as he had Hermione's attention, he gestured towards his former friend, who desperately tried to crawl away. Hermione understood.

"_Stupefy!"_

Wormtail slumped down unmoving and Remus relaxed. Now they only needed to get back into the castle, he only hoped that Sirius and Harry had done the same. He just wanted to try and utter that thought despite his still aching throat when a new voice interrupted them.

"Charlie? Ron? Dear Merlin, what happened here?"

Looking up Remus saw the figure of Arthur Weasley hurrying towards them, a look of pure relief on his face. He quickly hurried over towards his two sons, who were still clinging tightly onto each other as if the other one would vanish if they let go. Arthur pulled both of them to their feet, then glance up and down his older son as if he wanted to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. He shook his head for some moments, before he pulled Charlie into a tight embrace.

"Thanks Merlin that you're alive, we've been so worried. What happened?"

Hermione helped Remus to his feet and then addressed Arthur.

"Mr. Weasley, we should get back into the castle. Remus is hurt and we should bring Pettigrew to the Aurors."

Arthur nodded, desperately trying to push all his questions aside for later. 

"Yes, you're right. Can you levitate Pettigrew, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded and muttered a levitation charm towards the unmoving form of the former Marauder.

"Remus, can you walk?"

Arthur stepped over towards the other man and looked at him with a concerned frown. Remus nodded.

"It's alright. Just can't really speak."

The croaking sound that replaced his normally firm and smooth voice even startled Remus. Arthur nodded.

"Okay then, let's get back!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius was still following Harry and James into the Forbidden Forest. Some minutes earlier, he had turned into Padfoot in order to hide his presence better. He didn't know what was going on here, but he was sure that James was actually dead. And if James was dead, then the person in front of Harry had to be someone, or something, completely else. But the fact that Harry seemed to trust that person enough to disobey every order he had been given concerning this evening bothered Sirius greatly. 

'James' had now reached a clearing and slowed down his pace, and so did Harry. Sirius decided that it was better to remain in the shadows of the surrounding trees and wait for what was about to come. During the last couple of minutes, while he had been chasing his godson as Padfoot, his animal instincts had started running amok, and now that he had changed back into his human form, he found that a leaden lump of panic had formed in his stomach and the hand that held his wand was damp with sweat. Something was wrong here. Suddenly, he heard Harry's voice.

"Dad, what is this all about? Why did you bring me here? Where are we?"

James turned around to face his son and smiled down at him. He smiled just like Sirius remembered he did, but something was wrong with him, he just couldn't put his finger onto it.

"I brought you here so that you don't get hurt in the battle. You're too important. You have to meet Voldemort and you have to defeat him, that's why I brought you here."

"You said that before, but that's not what I wanted to know. And where's Mom? You said that she would be here as well."

Sirius drew in a sharp breath. Lily? Why would Lily be here as well? And why was 'James' avoiding to answer Harry's questions?  
"Lily will be here soon, don't worry son. There is something we need to tell you before you face Voldemort once more. Something very important. But for now, why don't you come out of your hiding place and join us here, Sirius?"

Sirius' eyes widened. No way James could have seen him, neither on the run through the forest nor while he had been standing in the shadows. But James had turned around and now stared directly into the direction where Sirius was hiding, so there was no use in keeping his presence hidden anymore. He stepped out of the shadows and entered the clearing. Harry's eyes narrowed in anger, but before he could say anything, James made a step towards Sirius.

"Padfoot, long time no see. But maybe it's good that you are here."

Sirius realized that he had started shaking, very much like he had done when he had faced the Boggart in Remus' office. And James didn't look very different from the Boggart that had all of a sudden emerged from Remus' desk. The same stern face, the same lips that were put together in a tight line, the same cold sparkle in his eyes. The same hatred that looked out of these eyes. Sirius tried willing his hands to stop from shaking and readied himself for another round of what he had been facing in Remus' office. But then Sirius remembered Remus' words.

'_That wasn't James who was standing there and that surely wasn't the way he would react to you if you met again.'___

He hadn't believed those words then, not really, but now he believed them. The James he knew had never looked at him with such a coldness in his eyes, not even after the incident with Snape and the Willow. Disappointment – yes, hurt – yes, anger – oh yes, many times, but never and under no circumstances such a coldness and hate. James Potter wouldn't react like that, and whatever was standing in front of him now definitely wasn't James Potter.

"Who are you?"

Sirius was surprised at how firm his voice sounded. But the figure in front of him only laughed.

"What Padfoot, don't recognize an old friend? Your former best friend? My, if that was possible, I'd be even more disappointed now."

"James Potter is dead. Care to explain why you don't seem to be dead at all? Or why you don't seem to be a day older than you were when you died?"

"It's magic, Sirius."

Sirius drew in a deep breath and slowly counted to ten.

"Do not play stupid with me. I know that you cannot be James, and I want to know why you took my godson away from where he was supposed to stay and wait for Dumbledore."

James merely raised an eyebrow.

"Believe it or not, Sirius, I am James Potter. You were very observant in stating that I am supposed to be dead, thanks again for that, but to explain my presence here: I've been sent here in order to set some things right again. I'm not real the way you or Harry are real, but the fact remains that I am James Potter. Whether you like it or not."

Sirius only shook his head.

"No, you're not."

"What is going on here?"

Sirius immediately turned his head towards the source of the new voice and wasn't too surprised to find that it was Lily who had spoken. She stepped onto the clearing and immediately enveloped Harry in a tight hug.

"Didn't I tell you that we'd be there in time of need?" 

Lily held Harry at arm's length and smiled at him while she gently pushed away some strands of hair from his forehead. Sirius was boiling inside and he clenched his teeth firmly together.

"Let go off my godson. Now."

Lily turned around and stared at Sirius in mock disbelief.

"Sirius. I didn't expect to see you here."

Her voice, very much like James', was distant and matter-of-factly. Not like Lily at all.

"Nor did I expect to see you here. Whoever you are, whatever you are. Because that much is for sure: you're not the James and Lily I knew. That's why I'm going to take my godson and leave now."

Sirius crossed the distance between himself and the three other figures on the clearing and tried to pull Harry away from his parents. But Harry quickly slapped his hand away.

"Let go of me Sirius. I'm going to stay with them."

Sirius shook his head.

"But…Harry, you can't. I have to bring you to Dumbledore and you know that. You can't face Voldemort alone."

"I am not alone, in case you haven't realized. I got my parents with me, and that will be enough."

Sirius still didn't understand what was going on, so he kept shaking his head and staring from Harry to James, then to Lily and back to Harry again.  
"Harry, I know we've not been on best terms lately, but you have to believe me: those are not your parents. You have to come with me, it's not safe here."

"Oh, as if you had ever cared that my son was safe. He wasn't safe with the Dursleys, but you didn't care about that when you stupidly went after Peter on your own, did you?"

Slowly, Sirius turned around to face 'James'.

"And what, pray, would you know about this?"

James smirked.

"Harry told me everything. What do you think where he was during those ten days when all of you thought he was asleep?"

Sirius gaped openly.

"He was…with…Harry was…?"

"Oh yes, he was. All the time. And I think he never enjoyed himself as much as he did when he was home with us. Back home where he belonged. A home that you have taken away from him! Am I not right, Harry?"

Sirius didn't really dare to look at his godson, but what he heard next confirmed his worst fears.

"Yes Dad, you're right."

"Harry, I…"

"Sirius, I really don't want to hear it. I've already heard enough lame excuses from you, don't you think?"

"Harry, just for one more time trust me: those are not James and Lily! Please Harry, trust me! I know that something is wrong here!"

But Harry just shook his head and turned away from Sirius, burying his face in his mother's arms. 

Sirius couldn't believe it. He knew that this wasn't real, he knew that this weren't James and Lily, but how on Earth could he make his godson believe that? If only Remus were here, his friend was far better in solving things like this.

He must have unconsciously turned his head when thinking about Remus, because James suddenly spoke again.

"There's no use in searching for help. Remus isn't here to pull you out again this time, he can't save you now."

"What?"

What did he do, read his mind?

And suddenly, Sirius understood. 

This wasn't James, and it had not been James while Harry had been asleep. And the only explanation for that would be that somebody had been playing with Harry's mind. And the only one who had a connection to Harry was Voldemort himself. But if Voldemort had been playing around with Harry's mind, why then would he create images of his parents? And how?

Another thought struck him.

Harry's memories, that's how! Supposing that Voldemort had used Harry's mind and made him believe that his memories of James and Lily were real, then 'James' here would only know what Harry knew, wouldn't he? And that mean he had a chance to show Harry the truth.

"So, James", he flashed the other man a grin, "Prongs, old buddy, you got me convinced. You really are James Potter, sent back from the dead on a divine mission to set things right."

Sirius made a step forward and James shot him a very puzzled look. The change in Sirius' behaviour was too sudden and strange.

"And because you're really James, you surely can answer me some questions, don't you?"

"Why…what? Well, of course I should."

"When exactly did we get caught by Filch after sneaking off to Hogsmeade? You know, the time he gave us that major detention."

James seemed to think for a moment, but then grinned.

"Fifth year, shortly before Christmas."

Damn, so he had told Harry that story. Another try.

"What was the name of your first girlfriend?"

James appeared to be puzzled.

"Why, Lily of course!"

Sirius smiled.

"Oh no. You dated Jenny Russell for three months back in fifth year, long before you even thought about Lily. What did you do to me after you got to know that I showed Snape the passage to the Whomping Willow?"

James seemed to get confused.

"I…I shouted at you…"

"Wrong, you punched me so hard, you broke my nose and two of my ribs. When did your father die?"

Now James felt on firm ground again.

"During our sixth year!"

"Which month?"

"Oh, I don't remember – August maybe?"

"Wrong again. It was March, two days before your birthday. You said you'd never be able to really celebrate your birthday again and now you tell me that you've forgotten?"

Sirius turned away.

"Don't you see Harry? Voldemort's been playing around with your mind, this isn't James. This is your memory of James, what you know of him and nothing more. He's just the living image of a memory! We need to get away from here, please believe me!"

Harry stared from his father to Sirius and back again, trying to process what he had just witnessed. It could not be, could it? What Sirius had told him made sense, how else could his father not know so much he normally should know? But then his parents had lied to him. Harry shook his head. No, they had no reason to lie to him, why should they? Sirius, on the other hand, did have a couple of reasons and surely he only wanted to take away Harry's family for the second time. Again, he only wanted to convince him of the way he saw things, and he did that by making his parents look like frauds and liars.

But before he even had time to do or say something, a stinging pain in his scar made him collapse to his knees, his hands firmly clenched across his forehead.

"Harry!"

Sirius was by his side immediately, gently trying to pull away the hands.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

Before Harry could answer, another voice sounded through the chill night air.

"I think Mr. Potter decided that it's best to kneel before me."

Sirius looked up and immediately wished he had not done so. He should have known that this was a trap. Without them realizing it, Voldemort himself had apparated into the clearing.

"Harry Potter. Once again we meet. Though I got the distinct feeling that this will be the last time we'll face each other.

Oh, and you brought your escort again? I thought that he had proven himself quite useless the last time already."

"Leave him alone!"

Sirius had overcome his initial shock and now placed himself protectively between his godson and the Dark Lord. He knew fully well that no matter how good an Auror he might be, he was no match for Voldemort, but if the Dark Lord wanted to get to Harry, he would have to kill him first. And if his death bought them the time Dumbledore and the others needed to realize what was going on, then so be it.

But Voldemort only laughed.

"Do you really think that you can stand in my way to get Potter? Then you're even more foolish than I thought.

_Crucio!"_

Harry looked flabbergasted at his godfather, who fell onto the floor and screamed in pain and agony. Oblivious to everything around himself, he curled up into a ball and tried to ease his pain, but to no avail.

Harry didn't know what he should do, he was kneeling helplessly on the floor and watched the scene with wide eyes. He himself didn't feel any pain at all, that assured him for the moment that Voldemort didn't intend to kill Sirius. Not that it made much difference. Sure, he was angry with his godfather, but this?

Voldemort removed the curse from Sirius. Still not knowing what he should do, Harry watched as Sirius relaxed, part of his muscles still contracting in the aftermath of the curse. Blood was pouring out of the corner of his mouth, he must have bitten his tongue at some point during the ordeal.

Harry slowly got up from his knees and stared at the other people on the clearing. 

His parents were looking at Sirius with absolutely no emotions whatsoever in their gazes, while Voldemort was grinning smugly.

"Now Potter, you didn't really think that he would be of any help for you against me, did you?"

Harry was still to stunned to say anything. 

And then many things happened at once, far too fast for Harry to understand or even react to them.

Voldemort drew his wand again and pointed it once more at Sirius.

"_Crucio!"_

And this time, Harry felt the overwhelming pain as if the curse was aimed directly at him. It felt as if his intestines were on fire and his lungs were clenched by an iron fist. Breathing became more and more difficult with every second that passed by. Harry knew what this meant: Voldemort was about to kill Sirius.

Suddenly strong arms grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back to his feet. When had he sunk to his knees? Harry couldn't remember.

He felt his father pulling him into an embrace and all of a sudden the pain stopped. Confused, Harry turned around. Sirius was still lying on the forest floor, again curled up into a tight ball. If he was still screaming, then Harry didn't hear it. His father's arms seemed to shield him from both the sounds and the pain that had been cursing through him only moments ago. Then he heard his father whisper.

"Don't look if you don't want to. It'll be over soon. He's only getting what he earns for all the harm that he's done to you."

When Harry looked at his father, he saw a faint glow surrounding his body. It looked as if he was shimmering slightly blue against the dark of the forest. The glow seemed to stretch from his father towards his mother, covering her completely and from there – to Voldemort.

Harry gasped.

What was happening here?

And suddenly he understood.

Sirius had been right, he must have been. Voldemort had been playing with his mind and memories while he had been asleep, tricking him into the belief that these were really his parents. And then, tonight, he had conjured them, he had conjured Harry's imagination and memories into reality to lure him away from those who wanted to protect him. There was no other explanation, Sirius had been right. And that was why his father could not remember the things Sirius had asked him.

But what could he do? As soon as he let go of his father's embrace, he surely would feel the effects of the Cruciatus again, and then he would be unable to do anything to help his godfather.

Just as Harry was about to contemplate his choices, thinking what he could do to stop all this, he realized something else.

When he took a closer look at the Dark Lord, he realized that what he did seemed to be straining him. Voldemort's face had taken a tense expression, his lips were clenched together very tightly and the hand that held his wand was shaking ever so slightly. Holding up the images of his parents and the Cruciatus Curse at once must cost a lot of energy, even for Voldemort.

Suddenly he remembered what Dumbledore had told him, that evening in his office. It seemed ages away, but it had only been a couple of days, the night when he had told Harry about the spells to defeat Voldemort.

_'The bigger problem is that in order to make the separation spell work, Voldemort must be weaker than he is. I'm afraid that he is far too strong to make that spell work.'_

That had been their problem all along, the one thing they had not planned – how to weaken Voldemort. If Harry would just let him continue now, the Dark Lord would do that all by himself. And then Harry could cast the separation spell, and even if Dumbledore was not present to cast the second spell, at least Voldemort would be reduced to a spirit.

But if Harry let him continue, then Sirius…

Harry didn't allow himself to continue that thought. He didn't want Sirius to die, but neither could he think of another possibility to draw away strength from the Dark Lord, nor could he think of a way to help his godfather now. The moment when he could have acted had long passed. He could have left the clearing when Sirius had told him to do so, but he had refused. Now he could only wait for this to end and hope that Voldemort would be weak enough to cast the spell before…

Again Harry didn't allow himself to finish that thought, but this time because he had seen movement between the trees on his right side. Turning his head slightly to the right, not wanting to draw the attention from anybody else, he took a closer look.

His heart missed a beat.

Harry blinked and looked again, but the picture had not changed. Dumbledore stood there, and Harry had never been so relieved to see his old headmaster before. Dumbledore stood at the edge of the clearing, so far unnoticed by Voldemort, and took in the sight that lay before him. 

Sirius was lying on the floor under the Curse form Voldemort, still writhing in pain. Harry was standing with his back to his father, James' hands crossed protectively across his chest and watched the scene just like James and Lily did.

Harry saw that Dumbledore held the Marauder's Map in his left hand and had his wand in a firm grip in the right. That at least explained how he had found them. Harry desperately waited for him to do something, to give him any sign to act, but Dumbledore didn't move an inch. Whether he was too shocked by what he saw or whether this was part of some plan Harry could not tell.

But surely Dumbledore had gone through the same line of thought that Harry had, because by now it was quite obvious that what Voldemort was doing cost him a lot of strength. His hand was shaking quite hard by now and a layer of sweat covered his face. His red eyes were reduced to mere slits and Harry thought that if he pressed his lips more firmly together, they'd vanish completely.

Voldemort must have realized as well that keeping up all this spells drew too much strength from him, because all of a sudden he removed the curse from Sirius. At least Harry hoped that he removed it for that reason and not because he had succeeded in killing Sirius. 

Harry started to struggle against the firm grip that the image of his father still had on him, but James would not let him go.

"Let me go!"

James just shook his head.

"No I won't! It's not over yet."

With a grip so tight that it hurt, he turned Harry so that he faced Voldemort. The Dark Lord was panting, struggling to regain his breath and posture, but nevertheless he gave Harry a malicious grin.

"You should have listened to your precious godfather while he was still able to speak, Potter. It was hard enough to make you stay in the little dream world I prepared for you, and then you crossed my plans again and decided to leave before I had the chance to start my attack. But I guess that at least the doubt I planted in you was successful."

He looked down at the unmoving form of Sirius, and suddenly kicked him violently in the ribs. Sirius didn't move, but he let out a low moan.

Harry sighed. So at least Sirius was still alive! 

"Oh, I wouldn't start celebrating, Potter. He won't have very much longer to live. That was the last uncertainty in my plan to get hold of you – whether he would be able to hold you off from coming to me. But the way it looks now, you were foolish enough to listen to your parents."

Voldemort still didn't seem to have noticed that Dumbledore had arrived at the clearing and suddenly Harry had an idea.

"These are not my parents! They are nothing but images, created by you!"

And with that, he spun around in the now lose grip 'James' had on him and did what he had vowed to himself never to do again only some months ago. 

"_Crucio!"_

The image of James didn't seem to be affected by the curse at all, and this puzzled Harry. But after some short moments, the faint blue glow that he had seen minutes ago began to appear again and spread from 'James' to 'Lily' and then to Voldemort.

The Dark Lord shrieked in surprise and slowly sank to his knees. It worked! Harry could not believe his luck, it really worked. He didn't really know for how long he should hold up the curse, but surely for some moments longer. He didn't want to throw away the only chance they might get to finally destroy Voldemort just because he didn't hold up the curse for long enough.

Harry heard the blood rushing in his ears, all other sounds seemed to be blocked out. Suddenly, from far away as it seemed, Harry heard Dumbledore's voice.

"Harry, the spell! You have to cast it now!"

Harry removed the curse, looked up and frantically tried to remember what his headmaster was talking about. He realized that Dumbledore was running towards him but he couldn't see properly. He ran a hand across his eyes and realized that he was crying. When had he started crying?

"Harry, the spell! Now!"

Harry shook his head and got to his feet. Of course, the spell. The reason why he was here, how could he have forgotten? Voldemort was already on his knees again and struggled to get back to his feet. Harry closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the words Dumbledore had taught him. Trying to even his breathing, he focussed on what he was about to do. '_Summon every bit of magic in you and then just focus on the words. Focus on their meaning, the rest will come on its own.'_

And so Harry did. He raised his wand, and with a voice he didn't really recognize to be his own, he shouted the incarnation.

"_Corpus et anima miscui iniurius fui insociabilis et absindus aeternus!"_

It felt as if a tornado was raging in his own body. Everything seemed to spin around him and inside of him, his muscles were contracting and relaxing again and all his cells seemed to heat up. The heat rose inside of him, wandered through his legs, his belly, his head and seemed to stream into his right arm, the arm that held Voldemort at wand point. A huge flash of bright white light shot out of his wand and raced towards the Dark Lord. Voldemort saw it coming, and as if he suddenly realized what was happening, as if he realized that Dumbledore had found a way to finally defeat him, his face twisted into a mask of pure agony and hatred. He opened his mouth to scream, but before a sound came out, the wave of light hit him and he fell to the ground.

Wind started to swirl around Voldemort's body, carrying leaves and small twigs into a cloud and Harry fell to the forest floor, unable to remain on his feet any longer.

The white light faded and the leaves settled again, falling to the floor in small circles as if they had merely fallen from a tree. Then Harry saw it.

At first, it was nothing more than a fluttering of air above the unmoving form of Voldemort. But soon, the air above his body became thicker and turned an ugly shade of dark grey and black. Slowly, a revolting dark cloud was forming, moving around as if it was a shapeless ghost, but unable to separate itself completely from the body.

Harry saw that Dumbledore made himself ready to cast the final spell, the spell to end Voldemort's existence.

And then something unexpected happened.

As if Voldemort's spirit was making one last attempt to strike, the dark cloud took a somewhat human form again and spread out an arm towards the still unmoving Sirius. 

And then everything seemed to go in slow-motion.

Harry realized that Voldemort was summoning his last strength kill Sirius, and he also knew that Dumbledore was too focussed on casting the spell than to help. If he let that chance pass, they'd probably not get another one. So Harry had to do something to help Sirius. But what? Dumbledore had said that he would be magically drained after casting the spell, and drained was exactly what he felt like right now. He couldn't even get to his feet. He felt so tired and drained that all he could manage was rise his head to see what was happening.

For what he hoped would be the last time in his entire life, Harry heard the voice of Lord Voldemort.

"_Avada…"_

"No!"

With a huge physical effort, Harry rose to his knees and raised his wand. Frantically, he searched his mind for a spell, a hex, a charm, anything to stop Voldemort from killing Sirius. But nothing would come to his mind. Nothing.

"…_Kedavra!"_


	16. Old Friends Return

**_HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU OUT THERE!!!_**

_Thanks for making the last year so exiting for me with all your reviews, I hope this will continue during 2003!_

_Okay, it's not Thursday morning here in Germany as I promised but Wednesday afternoon and I guess I'm still very drunk (thanks Merlin that I usually don't get hangovers), and I just realized that we nearly crossed the 200 reviews barrier! If that doesn't demand a little present – here you go with the next chapter! I didn't want to let you wait until I return here on Sunday, not with the cliffhanger I left you on! Sorry 'bout that again!_

_The story is actually finished right now, so I can proudly announce that, including this chapter, it will be two more chapters and an epilogue. Back in my old posting pattern, I hope, so the story should be finished in two weeks lately._

_But I have to admit that I'm more than surprised that nobody except from evil spapple pie (with some guidance) discovered that Charlie was one of the guards. Knowing me, you could have guessed that he would make an appearance again, otherwise I would not have let him disappear in the first place!_

_On with the A/N fro the week you all did review very much for the last chapter. Wonder why that was the case…*g*_

_Kelly__: First one to review my major cliffhanger, and then it's a new face! Welcome! Of course I can send a mail about my update, hope you received it! A lot of people suspected that something was wrong about James and Lily, but after Harry woke up again most people never mentioned it again. But I told you James and Lily would turn up again! And as far as Charlie is concerned: well, I could not really make him a Death Eater, could I? He'll have enough to get over with as it is already!_

_Gaby__: I don't think the cliffhanger was that bad, was it? But here you go with the next chapter anyway._

_Mary_anne__: I already mailed you about the thing with the one-hour-to-post. But now I have slept and here goes my chapter! Thanks for your warm words about 'No Longer Safe', I haven't decided yet whether I will continue or not. I mean, I really want to, and parts of the story are already written, especially the ending. But I still have to connect them, and through the fact that I haven't written on it for a long time, I've discovered that my writing style has changed a lot since I started posting that story. But I'll definitely let you know when I've come to a decision, and if I decide not to go on, I can send you the parts that I've already written. Promise._

_Musisculpt__: How could I leave you like this? Well, that's easy: I wanted to! Ever since I started re-writing that story, I knew that **I ****wanted ****to ****have ****that ****cliffhanger! It was actually one of the first things I wrote, even before I wrote Harry's coma I think! And, I really couldn't make Charlie a Death Eater, but I'm still surprised that nobody (Okay, evil spapple pie after a lot of hints), discovered that Charlie and his Dragon Keepers were the guards! No update on Tuesday as you hoped I'm afraid, I hope you could stand the pressure of wanting to know what happened to Sirius. I hope you won't be disappointed. I ****did mention that there will be a Character Death, didn't I? Mwhahahah!**_

_Zenya__ (who was too busy plotting my murder to sign in): Erm…you okay? I know it won't make things better, but I know the feeling that you're searching for the next chapter after a cliffhanger an it just isn't there. If you want to hunt me down, you'll have to go a long way to __Germany__, I'm afraid! And no Last Marauder Syndrome this time, not with a cliffhanger which I've been so looking forward to finally posting! Sorry!_

_darkphoenix__: Don't worry that you didn't review lately, I'm glad that you're back. I know what stress can do to one's fanfiction life! And you should know my liking for evil cliffhangers by now. Remember The Last Marauder? Chapter 19? 'Remus???'. Oh, I LOVED that one!_

_Padfoot1979__: It's called a cliffhanger, dear! *g* I wouldn't kill Sirius? Well, I killed Remus once. And because I brought him back, nobody believes that I'm able to kill one of our dear character. But I said there will be a Character Death, and I'm still sticking to that one. I couldn't let Charlie kill Ron. At first I wanted to, but then I simply couldn't. Getting weak in my old days, I suppose._

_SilverMoon__: At this point, Voldemort is weaker than he was before, but being such a powerful wizard, he's not weak enough not to be able to cast a successful killing curse! No, no, no! That would make things too easy. It's a real, deadly Avada Kedavra. That much I can say!_

_Jules__: Read and find out what I do with Sirius. But thanks so much! Best story you ever read? Oh, I'm flattered (though I don't believe I'm that good, but it feeds my ego!)_

_Leap__ of Fate: Thursday, not the end of the week! As for the rest of your review: cliffies are meant to be like that. Really. I couldn't believe it at first myself, but I looked it up! But thank you so much! One of the real books? Wow, though I know that I could never be as good as JKR herself, hearing this does my ego very much good!_

_A.Dee__: Right, I got it with A.Reader by now, but no problem about you putting it in again. And you're right, authors are able to change their minds about plotlines, and I said there would be a Character Death, didn't I? And no, the killing curse is not aimed at somebody else, it's aimed straight at Sirius. And it's a real, mean and deadly Avada Kedavra. _

_Germany__ is ahead in time compared to __America__. I know that we're six hours ahead of __New York__, and I think it was nine or ten hours ahead of __L.A.__, I can't recall whether you had three or four different time zones. So the post should reach you on late Wednesday Evening, depending on the time zone you're in!_

_I correct myself: Wednesday morning for you, because I just decided to post it on Wednesday afternoon here in __Germany__!_

_Bookworm2000__: But I like making people miserable! Thanks that you imply my story in the stories you read, as you call them the best ones, but you knew all along that somebody would die. I said so from very early on! But just read on and find out before you start hating me. Please!_

_Schwester__ Aurelia: The mail is on its way, this time for true. I'm on my way to gmx.de now to write it! Promise! But I wanted to use my A/N today to tell you how much your reviews brightened up my days! Really! They were always funny, always cheering my up! Thanks for sticking to the story so far, thanks for sharing my little secret about the character death, thanks for the idea with Remus' Patronus (it'll turn up again in the next chapter), thanks for everything! I can't tell you how much this meant to me! **Thank You! And now I'll leave before I start crying!**_

_On with the next chapter.___

_Enjoy! Mwhahahahahah!_

**Old Friends Return**

Snape came back into the temporary infirmary with a goblet in his hands and made his way over to Remus who at that moment was occupied with mending a deep gash in the leg of a Ministry Auror.

Snape waited until Remus had finished, then grabbed him by the sleeve of his robe and dragged him towards the wall, pushing the goblet into his hands.

"Drink this Lupin."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"What is that? Severus, I told you that I am fine, I really don't need that potion."

He tried to turn around and walk back to see to another wounded, but Snape wouldn't let go of his sleeve.

"You've been fighting for minutes with somebody who had a silver arm. Besides, all the Aurors here have been protected by spheres of silver dust, so there's likely still something in the air here. I know that it's not very probable, but if any silver got into your blood system we have to neutralize it now, or it will be too late. So stop being the noble martyr and drink that potion, then I'll leave you be. But I don't want to have Black trying to chop my head off because I didn't give you the potion."

Remus sighed and took the goblet from Snape. He knew that the Potions master wouldn't leave until he had drunk it, so he gulped it down in one go.

"Thank you. What will the potion do?"

"Circulate in your blood system for twenty-four hours. If there's any silver in it, it'll neutralize it immediately. In case that happens, you'll feel slightly nauseous, but that's all."

Remus nodded.

"Thank you."

With that, Remus wanted to turn around and see to another wounded. Ever since he, Hermione and the Weasleys had come back to the castle and found out that Sirius and Harry had not returned, but that Dumbledore had left in search of them, Remus had been worried. He had wanted to leave again right after he had gathered the news, but in the end had let himself get convinced that without knowing where to look for them he would be on a useless mission out there. So he had started helping Madam Pomfrey and the medi-wizards in treating the wounded, just to keep his mind from thinking too much about everything that could have possibly happened. 

But as he turned around, the room around him started spinning and there were sparks dancing in front of his eyes. He vaguely wondered that Snape had said the potion would make him nauseous, not dizzy, when everything before his eyes went black for a short moment. Remus stumbled and stuck out an arm to support himself on the wall. Snape quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and held him upright.

It was over as quickly as it had happened and Remus regained his balance. He frowned his brow and turned towards Snape.

"Did you feel that?"

Snape nodded hesitantly.

"I felt something, but not to the same extend that you did. In case we felt the same thing, that is."

"It felt like a huge…I don't know, a huge eruption of magic."

Again, Snape nodded.

"Something has happened, something big. It felt just as if a very powerful spell has been cast, more powerful than anything I can think of. It could…"

Remus didn't let him finish that sentence but stormed out of the Great Hall without hesitation. All of a sudden, he felt an urgency to get out, to see what had happened just then. Every sense in him was running amok, every alarm bell ringing at once. Something had happened, and it had been something important. 

Snape didn't think twice but followed Remus, for once totally relying on the heightened senses of the werewolf.

On their way out, they nearly ran into Ron and Hermione, and without another question the two students followed Remus and Snape. Though none of them had felt the same extend that Remus had felt, all of them had sensed that something had happened.

The four figures ran across the Hogwarts grounds and followed Remus' lead into the Forbidden Forest. Remus didn't know exactly why he went in there, he somehow knew that this was the right way to go.

On his way, Remus threw a quick glance towards the battle that was still going on. Or rather not going on anymore, for the few remaining werewolves seemed to have felt that eruption of magic as well and had retreated into another part of the forest, whereas the remainder of the Death Eaters had by now been circled by Ministry Aurors and was being disarmed and bound.

But Remus couldn't care less at the moment. Every alarm bell in his head screamed that something was wrong.

He ran through the forest as fast as he could, not really caring whether Snape, Ron and Hermione were able to keep up with him. He reached the clearing where Harry and the others were shortly before Snape and the two youths did, and what he saw there made him stop dead in his tracks. 

His heart missed several beats while he tried to process the impact of what he saw there on the clearing.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

For what he hoped would be the last time in his entire life, Harry heard the voice of Lord Voldemort.

"_Avada…"_

"No!"

With a huge physical effort, Harry rose to his feet and raised his wand. Frantically, he searched his mind for a spell, a hex, a charm, anything to stop Voldemort from killing Sirius. But nothing would come to his mind. Nothing.

"…_Kedavra!"_

"_Expecto __Patronum!"_

Harry hadn't even thought about the Patronus Charm, the words seemed to have left his mouth on their own. Harry wasn't convinced that it would work, anyway. He felt too drained to even levitate a leaf, let alone conjure a Patronus. But, much to his surprise, immediately after he had shouted the incarnation the stag came out of his wand and raced towards the fallen figure of his old friend in a dead race with Voldemort's Killing Curse. The Patronus acted as if it actually knew the importance of its doing. When Prongs reached Sirius, he placed himself protectively in front of him and took the full impact of the Killing Curse himself, absorbing it in a faint green glow without as much as stumbling.

Harry was just about to wonder why his Patronus wasn't silver like it had always been, but rather brown like a real living stag, when from somewhere distant he heard Dumbledore's voice shout an incarnation. Then the forest around Harry seemed to erupt with magical energy. As if hit by the shock-wave of a dropping bomb, Harry fell back onto the ground and then everything went black.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus swallowed against the lump in his throat.

Four bodies were lying on the frozen forest floor, and none of them was moving. The only thing that clearly was alive was the animal that was standing protectively in front of Sirius. A stag. A stag Remus would have recognized amongst thousands. There on the clearing stood Prongs.

Remus heard footsteps behind him and then Snape, Ron and Hermione came to a halt next to him. All three of them took in the scenery with the same shocked expression as Remus had.

Snape just shook his head. 

"What in Merlin's name has happened here? And what is that deer doing there?"

"That's not just a deer, Severus."

Remus stepped into the clearing slowly made his way to Sirius who lay closest to him. Prongs raised his head, making a few determined steps towards the intruder as if to show clearly that he was protecting the body behind him and would allow no harm to be done to the man. He lowered his head and pushed his antlers towards Remus and the werewolf understood the gesture. Carefully and slowly, he stretched out a hand towards the deer to show that he indeed meant no harm. The stag looked at the hand, moved his head close to it, then looked up at the Remus, staring at him from intense brown eyes. After some moments he obviously recognized his old friend for he stepped closer and softly nuzzled Remus' neck in silent greeting before he turned around and started walking off the clearing. Shortly before he reached the tree line however, the stag once more turned, looked at Remus and then slowly began to fade. After some seconds there was just an empty space where just moments ago the stag had stood. 

Remus felt like fainting. What had happened here?

"What was that?"

Hearing Ron's voice, Remus turned around.

"That was Harry's Patronus, I think."

He quickly shook his head, as if to shake away all his questions and store them for later, then he crouched down next to Sirius and raised a shaking hand towards his friend's neck. He sighed in relief when he immediately found a pulse. 

"He's alive."

Ron and Hermione exhaled deeply, but Snape didn't comment on what Remus had just said and merely made his way towards Dumbledore's body. Remus put a heating charm on Sirius to keep him warm on the frozen ground and then went over towards Harry. Again, he felt a steady heartbeat as soon as his hand touched the boy's throat.

He nodded encouragingly towards Ron and Hermione and then repeated what he had done with Sirius before he turned towards the fourth body that lay on the ground. Remus carefully bent over the form of Voldemort and couldn't prevent the shiver that ran down his spine. The Dark Lord appeared to be dead, but Remus didn't want to decide that for sure. He raised his wand and shot a battery of red stars into the nightly sky, a signal for the Auror Units to send help immediately. Then he put a couple of binding charms and wards around the body, just to make sure that he couldn't move in case he wasn't dead at all, before he turned towards Snape.

The Potions master knelt next to Dumbledore's figure, his head bent and his hand resting on the old wizard's shoulder.

"Severus?"

Slowly, Snape raised his head and locked his gaze with Remus. The look in Snape's eyes told Remus everything he needed to know. It had happened.

Albus Dumbledore was dead.

Remus turned around and fought the tears that suddenly stung in his eyes.

"Ron, Hermione, would you keep shooting red sparks so that the Aurors know where to find us?"

He was surprised how firm his voice sounded when he himself felt like breaking down and cry.

Both nodded and immediately started their task while Remus got up and made his way towards Snape. He knelt down on the other side of Dumbledore's body and tried to catch Snape's eyes.

"You knew that this would happen?"

Snape closed his eyes and it took some moments until he had collected himself enough to answer.

"I suspected it when he told me about the spell but refused to go into detail. I suspected that magic which was powerful enough to destroy a spirit like Voldemort's would draw the last bit of energy from the person who uses it. But I'm sure that Albus knew that this would happen."

Remus merely nodded. There was nothing more to say, so both wizards knelt in silent vigil over the body of their mentor, each lost deeply in his own thoughts.

After some minutes, raised voices from behind made them look up.

"What in Merlin's name has happened here?"

Remus and Severus got to their feet and saw that ten Aurors had run onto the clearing and now stared at the scene in disbelief. In front stood Arabella Figg, wand in hand and panting heavily.

"Remus, what has happened here?"

Remus stepped towards her and shook his head. 

"I don't really know Arabella. We came here because we felt that something had happened, and somehow my instincts led me here. I guess we'll have to ask Harry and Sirius as soon as they wake up. They ought to be brought to a doctor immediately. Voldemort is dead from all that I can tell."

He paused, dreading the words he would say next, though he knew that he had to accept it, that it was real.

"And so is Albus."

Silence settled over the clearing once more as the Aurors tired to process that piece of information. Albus Dumbledore, leading figure in the fight against the Dark, was dead.

After some moments of silent respect, the Aurors however started with their task. Five of them slowly approached the body of Voldemort and so Remus quickly lifted the wards he had set up around it. While the Aurors were busy examining the corpse of the Dark Lord, Arabella and three other Aurors took care of Sirius and Harry while Snape conjured a stretcher for Dumbledore's body. He strictly refused the help of the remaining Auror, stating that he would bring the deceased headmaster back into the castle on his own. Remus somehow could understand him. From all that he knew – and he guessed that he didn't know half of it – Snape owed Dumbledore a lot, and during the time that Snape had been Potions master at Hogwarts a strong friendship and loyalty had formed between the two men. Something Snape had never really shown openly, but it had definitely been there. Dumbledore's death must be a hard blow for Snape.

The small procession of five Aurors, Snape, Ron, Hermione, Remus, the unconscious forms of Harry and Sirius and the dead body of Dumbledore slowly made its way out of the Forbidden Forest and back into the castle. Remus tried to avoid the curious glances they earned from the spread groups of fighters they met on their way back, but not long after they had re-entered the castle the rumour made its way around that Albus Dumbledore was dead.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry had the worst headache of his life. That much was for sure. So far, he had not dared to open his eyes, but ever since consciousness had once more slowly started to spread through him, the pain in his head had increased steadily. He also realized that he obviously wasn't lying on the cold forest floor anymore. The material under his back was soft and he felt warm, so he was obviously lying in some sort of bed.

After a quick inner debate, Harry decided that the task of opening his eyes was might be worth the struggle, maybe there was somebody out there who could give him something against the pain.

Slowly, he opened one eye and was relieved to notice that the room around him appeared to be dark. The other eye followed suit and Harry desperately tried to make out his surroundings, which was not easy without his glasses. He was in some sort of hospital, and he'd bet his Firebolt that this was the Hogwarts infirmary. He'd recognize that room anywhere, after all the time he had spent in here.

The room was only dimly lit, suggesting that it was either very early in the morning or very late in the evening. Someone was sitting beside him in a chair, head fallen to the side and breathing evenly. It was the figure of a man, so Hermione was ruled out. Also, the figure wasn't tall enough to be Sirius, not old enough to be Dumbledore and didn't have the red hair to identify him as Ron.

Though he hated to wake the obviously sleeping person, Harry desperately needed something against the pain, and so he tried a lucky guess to whom he was.

"Remus?"

Harry was shocked that his voice sounded so hoarse, but it had the desired effect nevertheless. The man's head shot up and he immediately bent down over Harry.

"Harry? Are you awake?"

It was Remus. Harry nodded.

"How are you feeling? Wait, I'll light that lamp here."

"No, Remus no light please. Hurts."

Remus seemed to nod, though it was hard for Harry to guess.

"Glasses?"

"Yes, wait a moment."

Remus rummaged around on the bedside table and then gently slid Harry's glasses onto his face.

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

"Major headache. And thirsty."

Remus smiled at him and got up from his chair.

"Wait a moment. I'll get Madam Pomfrey and then I'll bring you something to drink."

Harry nodded and closed his eyes again. True to his word, Remus returned only some moments later with a large glass of cold water. He helped Harry into a sitting position and then assisted him to drink the water without spilling everything onto the bed sheets.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, you're awake again."

Madam Pomfrey had stepped next to the bed and waved her wand over Harry's body in a quick examination. Then she handed him a goblet with potion.

"Here, drink this. It should help your headache. It's still quite early, but I'd advice you to stay awake for a while if you can. It should help to ease out your sleeping pattern. But if you feel like sleeping, then don't hesitate to do so.

Remus, remember that Mr. Potter needs rest."

Remus nodded at her and while Madam Pomfrey left, he got up and walked over towards the infirmary fireplace. While he was drinking his potion, Harry wondered to whom Remus might be speaking, but soon forgot about that thought when he felt the wonderful feeling of a vanishing pain.

The guy who had invented that potion had earned a Nobel Prize. Or the Order of Merlin, First Class. Or whatever praise else.

Remus returned and sat back in his seat, trying to smile at Harry encouragingly. But Harry realized that something had happened, for the smile didn't really reach Remus' eyes.

"Remus, what's wrong?"

Remus sighed.

"Harry, I asked Snape to come here now. We need you to tell us what happened there in the Forbidden Forest. Do you remember?"

Harry nodded as the memory came back to him. But why didn't the others know what had happened? While he had been out cold, Dumbledore and Sirius surely had told them.

"But Professor Dumbledore and Sirius surely have told you everything by now, haven't they? How long have I been asleep anyway?"

"Something around thirty hours. And we don't know anything so far. You see Harry, Sirius hasn't woken up again yet and Albus…"

Remus' voice broke and he stared at the wall on the other side of the room. Harry wasn't quite sure, because he could not see clearly in the half-darkness, but for a moment he had thought that there were tears in Remus' eyes.

"Remus? What about Professor Dumbledore?"

Remus returned his eyes on Harry and exhaled deeply.

"Harry, Albus died last night in the Forest. We guess that he knew it would happen, that's why he didn't teach that spell to anyone else. Albus knew that casting the spell would result in his death."

Harry was silent for a moment. Dumbledore was dead. That could not be true, could it? Dumbledore couldn't just die, not like that. He had always been there, how could he seize to do so, just like that? How could he give away his life, just because of Voldemort? Voldemort…

"Remus, what about Voldemort?"

A small smile tugged the corners of Remus' lips.

"Voldemort's gone Harry. Gone for good this time."

Harry sighed deeply, though he could not really believe it yet.

"Ron and Hermione?"

"They are alright. Charlie is back as well."  
"What happened with Sirius and me? Why did we lose consciousness?"

Remus now merely shrugged his shoulders.

"We don't know everything yet, that's why we wanted to talk to you. The most obvious explanation is that you were very close to a huge eruption of raw magical power when Dumbledore's spell killed Voldemort. But there are some things I still don't understand, for example why Sirius shows signs of having been under Cruciatus for an awfully long time."

Harry swallowed hard and quickly looked away. No way he could tell Remus the reason for that. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to face Remus again. He smiled compassionately at him.

"Harry, I know that this might be hard, but we need to know what happened. And you'd better tell Severus and me before the Ministry questions you. Maybe we can clear up some of your confusion before that."

Harry nodded. Remus was right, as usual.

At that moment, the doors to the small bedroom in the back of the infirmary opened and Snape came into the room. With a quick greeting nod towards Remus, he approached Harry's bed and sat down after casting a silencing spell on the door. He sat down in a chair on the other side of Harry's bed and looked at them.

"I see that you have finally woken up Mr. Potter. Lupin has surely informed you of what has happened when we found you on that clearing?"

Harry nodded.

"Now Mr. Potter we need some explanations if you don't mind. The Ministry is running amok and as soon as they get the knowledge that you are awake they'll try and come running into here. Not to mention that blasted press. I don't know how many reporters I've hexed since yesterday evening. And that dratted Rita Skeeter tops them all!"

He shook his head and then focussed his attention back to Harry. 

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry sighed and tried to look anywhere but into Remus' or Snape's eyes.

"Okay. But please don't interrupt me, it's bad enough as it is if you really want to know the whole truth."

Both men nodded, Remus encouragingly while Snape seemed as if he just finally wanted some answers and so Harry started to tell. 

He began with the night when he had fallen asleep, telling the two older men about how he thought he had spent time with his parents, what had made him so angry towards Sirius, how he had decided to return and why he had reacted towards his godfather the way he had done.

Then he continued with James appearance after Sirius and Remus had left him the previous night, he told how 'his father' had led him into the forest, told about Sirius' appearance and his doubt about the fact that it had really been James and Lily.

As he started to tell what had happened after Voldemort had appeared, he felt that his voice broke and tears started clouding his eyes.

Harry looked down at his hands and didn't want to continue. After some moments, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, look at me."

When he didn't react, he felt Remus cupping his chin with one hand and forcing him to look into the older man's eyes.

"Harry, I can imagine that it's hard, but we really need to know what happened."

For some long moments, both locked their gaze and finally Harry sighed.

"Voldemort put Sirius under Cruciatus. He didn't want to kill him at first, but the second time he used the curse, he did. I felt it, too, just like last autumn during the Death Eater raids. But then this image of my Dad took me in his arms and I didn't feel the pain anymore. 'Dad' said that Sirius would now receive what he earned for all that he'd done to me, and I did nothing to stop it. I didn't want him to suffer from something like this, but I did nothing. Nothing.

And then I realized that Mom and Dad were just images that Voldemort had created. They were connected to him by some kind of faint glow. And I realized that it strained him to keep up the spells, that it weakened Voldemort to hold up all this magic. So I decided that if he just kept up what he was doing, he would weaken himself enough so that Dumbledore and I could cast the spells. I knew that Sirius could die, but I just let Voldemort continue because I thought that it was more important to defeat him. Dumbledore had arrived some time around that, but I don't know how he found us."

At this, Harry looked up. He didn't need an answer to that question, but he desperately needed some time to get himself under control again before he continued.

Snape sighed.

"Before Albus left the castle, he saw on that map of yours that you were leaving towards the Forbidden Forest. And leading you there was a dot that was marked 'Voldemort'. Albus must have run after you, but how exactly he found that clearing I do not know. The Forest is not on the map, maybe he instinctively knew where to go."

Harry nodded.

"I thought that he realized as well what was going on and waited for Voldemort to be weak enough. But Voldemort took the curse off from Sirius before that. I don't know why, but I suddenly had the idea that if there was a connection between him and the images of my parents, then I could use it. So I cast Cruciatus on the image of my father and it worked, just like it worked last autumn with Wormtail. 

Then it all happened so fast. Dumbledore told me to cast the spell he taught me, and when I did so a huge white light shot out of my wand and hit Voldemort. He fell to the ground and then this huge dark cloud formed over his body. It…it took a somewhat human form and…I don't know how, but it cast the Killing Curse towards Sirius. I don't know how it happened or why, I was so tired and drained, I could think of nothing to do. Dumbledore had told me that I would not be able to cast magic for a while after performing that spell, and I couldn't even think of something to help Sirius. But somehow I said the incarnation for the Patronus, I didn't even think about it then, and it worked. My Patronus, I think it took the Killing Curse instead of Sirius, but I really don't recall it exactly. Dumbledore must have said the other spell at that moment and then I don't remember anything."

Harry didn't really want to look up, but after some moments he forced himself to raise his head and look into Remus' eyes.

He couldn't really read the expression there, Remus stared somewhat lost at the wall behind Harry. Snape's voice made him turn his head.

"Mr. Potter, I want to ask you to levitate the pillow from the bed over there."

Harry frowned his forehead.

"Why?"

"Because it remains a mystery to me how you were able to cast a Patronus Charm after the large amount of magic you had just recently performed."  
Harry's eyes widened.

"You don't believe me?"

"I didn't say that, Potter. If I didn't believe you, then I would have told you so."

He handed Harry his wand from the bedside table and with a sigh Harry took it. He pointed the wand at the pillow on the other bed and tried to focus.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Nothing really happened. The pillow moved a little but didn't even leave the bed. Harry handed the wand back while Snape shot a curious glance at Remus.

"Do you have any explanation for this Lupin?"

Remus shook his head.

"No, I don't."

Snape nodded, then thought for a moment before he rose out of his chair.

"I'd better go and tell the Wielding about Voldemort's death. Now he can confirm officially by which spell he died and who cast it. And then I think I'll hex some more journalists, I'm slowly getting the hang of it."

Harry just shook his head in confusion while Remus managed a soft chuckle. He knew that inwardly Snape was still just as shocked as everybody was, but he himself could at the moment not think of a better idea to let some frustration out.

After some moments of tense silence, Harry finally dared to ask what was on his mind.

"You detest me now, don't you?"

Remus quickly turned towards Harry and frowned in confusion.

"Why do you think I would detest you?"

Looking down at his hands that were nervously fiddling with his blanket, Harry continued.

"Because I was a complete arse. I didn't follow any orders given to me, I ran off with somebody who wanted to trap me, and…and I allowed Voldemort to do that to Sirius. I allowed him to torture Sirius, I knew that he would kill him but I thought it was more important to kill Voldemort than to save Sirius. I didn't care."

"Harry, look at me."

Once more, Remus gently forced Harry to look into his eyes. The boy was surprised that he didn't find any trace of the expected rejection and detest in those amber orbs.

"Listen to me Harry. It's weird, but something similar to what I tell you now I've told Sirius some time ago. Harry, I know that a lot of this fight with Voldemort has been focussed on you, but it's not been your fight alone. It's been your fight as well as mine and Sirius' and that of many other people. And we all knew, Sirius knew what could be the possible consequences. What we would possibly have to sacrifice to achieve our aim. Last night Sirius wanted two things: He wanted to see Voldemort destroyed and, even more important, he wanted to see you save. And he would have more than willingly given his own life to see both of that come true.

Harry, Sirius knew of the dangers when he went out there last night. And he certainly would not have wanted you to do anything else than you have done.

And I certainly don't think you didn't care, otherwise you wouldn't be so worried about all this."

Harry shook his head.

"But I should have done something."

"Tell me Harry, what could you have done to stop it? From what I know – nothing. And even if you had tried to do something, then it probably would have only made things worse. Harry, if there had been no possibility for you to cast the spell, then Voldemort would have killed both you and Sirius. And there wouldn't have been a chance to destroy him. That wouldn't have made things better."

"Sirius will be okay?"

Harry's voice broke at that question and Remus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Madam Pomfrey said he will be just fine. It's okay."

Remus looked at Harry and tried to read the boy's expression. Harry didn't truly believe what he had told him earlier, that much Remus could tell. He was still fiddling with the blanket in his hands, still avoiding Remus' gaze whenever possible. A single tear escaped his eye and slowly made his way down Harry's cheek, and a moment later Harry seemed to lose the last piece of self control he must have had over himself. Harry tried to suppress the sobs that started ragging his body, but soon lost that battle.

Remus didn't need to think twice about it, he immediately sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the sobbing boy into his arms. Harry stiffened at first, but then allowed himself to relax into the embrace, buried his head in Remus' chest and cried out all the tension and pain that had accumulated inside of him for far too long now. For long minutes, Harry just gave in to the violent sobs that shook his body while Remus slowly stroke circles across his back and told him that it was alright.

When Harry finally seemed to calm down, Remus let him down onto the mattress again and pulled the blankets over him.

"Better?"

Harry nodded and Remus gave him a warm smile.

"You need to sleep now."

"I can't sleep. Not now."

Remus got up from his chair.

"Then I'm going to fetch you a sleeping potion. You definitely need some sleep."

He ruffled across Harry's hair, then got up from the bed and vanished into the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office. Some moments later he returned with a goblet in his hands. He helped Harry sit up again to drink the potion, and moments later Harry was fast asleep.

Remus sat back in his chair with a sigh and watched the sleeping figure for some long moments. Voldemort might be finally defeated, but Harry still had a long way to go before he would eventually reach normality again.


	17. Picking Up The Pieces

_Hi there! Sorry I've not been able to post yesterday, but I've not been in town until a couple of hours ago._

_Now that the climax of the story is over, let's find some rest with longer A/N, shall we? You've all reviewed like mad last week, I'm more than just grateful for it! I'll try to wrap up everything that's still left in the last chapter and the epilogue, so if you think you still need an explanation for something, let me know. Then I can check whether I've covered it. Thanks!_

_Fan__: 'Kill Hagrid or something if you really have to kill someone'. I don't know if it was intended, but I had to laugh when I read this!_

_Starlette__: Didn't expect Dumbledore to be the one? Wow, then I did something right, because that's what I wanted. And I said it wouldn't be a minor character. Your guess about how Harry conjured the Patronus is good, the explanation is in this chapter. I understand your problems in accessing the chapter, I had the same problem when I uploaded it. FF.net did weird things that day. As far as No Longer Safe is concerned, I'd like to continue it, and I've already written far more of it, but then the other two stories came in between and now…well, I'll have to see. I will definitely continue it, but as to when I cannot really say. Give me some weeks. And even if I continue, Harry will remain expelled. Mwhahahaha!_

_Leonie__: Doch, ich kann mir vorstellen wie schlimm es ist, nicht ins Internet zu kommen. Ich hatte das im September für sechs Wochen! Doofe Uni hat meinen Account gesperrt und mir nix gesagt, also dachte ich es läge an meinem PC. Danke für die ganzen Komplimente. Ich wollte eigentlich den Konflikt zwischen Harry und Sirius nicht so weit treiben, aber er hat sich dann quasi von alleine weitergeschrieben. Naja, da kommt noch was nach, keine Angst! Und die Konversation zwischen Harry und Remus im Klassenzimmer hat einfach Spaß gemacht zu schreiben. Ich weiß auch nicht warum, aber zu dem Zeitpunkt war ich auch ein bisschen sauer auf Harry und seinen Sturkopp. OMG, ich glaube ich sollte mich mal untersuchen lassen! Und ja – Snape hat Gefühle. Zumindest bei mir! Und was Harry's Patronus angeht – dieses Kapitel sollte die eine oder andere Antwort haben! Gut, dass Du zurück bist, ich hatte Dich schon vermisst!_

_Lady__ Arwen of Rivendell: Harry's getting smart, but he's not through with all of it yet. There's still his poor and neglected (and hurt) godfather to cope with…_

_Bookworm2000__: Don't hate people but hate Daniel Radcliffe? Weird. Though he's not my perfect Harry either, but he seems to be for many others. Or it's just WB's merchandise who made them believe that. But I didn't hate the movies, though I begrudge them that they left nearly all of my favourite scenes out. But they cast Jason Isaacs, so I'm willing to forgive some of those…hmmm Jason Isaacs…_

_Dumbledore__: I brought Remus back when everybody thought he was dead, I won't repeat that one. Dumbledore's dead, very much so. Sorry that you're sad about it, but it's been necessary for the story. And I believe that it's also most likely to happen in one of the three remaining books._

_sarahpeach__: Hold the hatemail, Sirius is alive. You'll see in this chapter. But I got you worried there, didn't I? Mwhahahaha! Valeria won't make an appearance again, but I guess she will be mentioned once more. There's still a lot of explaining to do for me, isn't there?_

_Bobbi__: I always try to update regularly, because I know what it feels to be left hanging without an update in a story. Believe me. Thanks so much for your nice words about my story, I'm so glad you like it!_

_Kelly__: Dumbledore's definitely dead. But Sirius will wake up again, and there's still a long way to go for him and Harry. Don't worry, it's not over yet (but nearly…)_

_evil__ spapple pie: I have to admit, I was tempted to let chapter 15 remain until you had read the cliffhanger (but then again I couldn't…I'm getting weak.) What did Sirius say about it? Is he very angry? And you were far too sure, because I promised to keep him alive, breathing and sane in case you returned Sirius to me. Which you didn't. So I wasn't bound to that promise anymore. But then again, I couldn't kill him off, I got a heart! Somewhere…_

_Christmas was fun, though a little boring after a while. Bad TV programme, no friends home and nothing to read. New Year was fun I guess, but I don't remember that much except from the hangover I had the day afterwards. Alcohol is bad for you!_

_You didn't guess Charlie was a guard? But I nearly pushed you into it, I even awarded you a gold star for finally drawing that conclusion! I'm disappointed, give it back! *g* only joking…_

_The werewolves that weren't killed ran away, so there will be awfully many naked Romanians around Hogwarts once the potion wears off. Wow, that sounds weird. But there will be explanations, I guess in the epilogue when I connect all the strings. Explanations for Remus' and Sirius' Patronus are in this chapter, though you already guessed much about Remus'._

_And yes, Sirius is still sane. Though some people (and Remus is surely amongst them) would confirm anytime that Sirius Black deserves an own interpretation of the word 'sanity'. Yes, Dumbledore was the one to die. I don't know if Sev is okay, though, he doesn't talk about it. You know him, always trying to make out thing on his own. I'll have him go to a shrink if it doesn't improve, but I guess he'll be alright in time. Though he's sad. He even cried, can you believe that? Cried on my shoulder until my shirt was completely wet! To say I was startled would be an understatement._

_There won't be a chapter named Avada Kedavra, I said there would be a cliffie with these words. And you already had that one. You're right, there are still some open plotlines that need to be covered, that's what the last chapter and the epilogue will be there for. But the story as such is finished, meaning that the climax is over. Maybe Valeria will be good for a sequel (though at the moment I don't intend to write one…but she's evil enough to become her own Dark Lady.)._

_Whoever told you was right, action is the worst to write. I'd rather write a romance story than a real huge action sequence, really._

_I told Severus that Remus thanks him for the potion, but he just nodded and started crying again. I'm slowly getting scared…_

_Draco wasn't really flirting with Ron, but in the scene you described, when he says 'See you at school Potter' (and Merlin only knows why Draco would want to see Harry at school, anybody who read the books would have never written a line like that!), he wriggles his eyebrows into Ron's direction and I couldn't help myself, I burst out until the friend who went into the cinema with me stuffed some popcorn into my mouth to cover it up as a coughing fit. Really ridiculous. _

_Japanese for 6 year, girl I have to admit I'm impressed. I'm always proud that I can speak German, but then again I never really had to learn it being my native language and all. But really learning such a difficult language and sticking to it for so long, respects!_

_Anyway, I'll leave it here now, otherwise I'll hit the 200.000 words mark just because I replied so much to your review! *g*_

_Banana__: He won't lose his powers, he's just drained now. Dumbledore explained it. He'll have to practice a little and in no time he'll be back to normal again!_

_A.Dee__: I scared you! Yay! Mwhahahahahaha! But you're right about Dumbledore, it was bound to happen. I expect it to happen in one of the future books, to be honest!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: I made you speechless? I take that as a compliment…_

_Ms.__ Issues: They'll all have to cope and it will take time. Harry's not back to normal, he's got huge mountains of stuff to clear up with a certain godfather first!_

_Eva__: Well, they'll have to work on repairing the bond and this will take time. But you'll see in the chapters that are still to come. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be said, it's not over for the two of them yet. But Harry hasn't lost his ability to do magic, he knew that it would diminish but then be restored with some time and practice. Dumbledore told him that he would be drained, but he didn't lose it. He was willing to sacrifice something else he loved dearly, though he wasn't really aware of it. Read, and then make up your mind about it._

_Christy__: I will keep writing, don't worry. This story and many others more! I simply enjoy all this too much to stop right now!_

_naughtynat__: Okay, I see your point about the cliffhanger. It's like when you tell somebody who's afraid of heights not to look down, the first thing he'll do is look down. My mistake, sorry for that. Don't be too hard with Harry, he's already worse for wear right now. And he still has to confront Sirius…_

_solarphoenix__: Yeah, I guess that Dumbledore didn't regret too much that he had to die for the cause. Death's nothing but the next great adventure, you're right. BTW, does anyone know what happened to Nicholas Flamel? How long did his elixir last? Well, I guess the two of them are having tea now, sucking some sherbet lemons._

_Loki__ – goddess of destruction: I would have remembered if you had reviewed, that name is just too great to forget about it. Where have I heard it before? Well, if you have the time and are willing to – go ahead and review as much as you want! I adore reviews! But basically I'm glad that you liked the story, that's far more important than getting reviews!_

_WOW, that was much! So, without wasting further words, here you go with the next chapter!_

_Enjoy!_

**Picking Up The Pieces**

The next morning around nine Remus opened the door to the small bedroom in the infirmary that Harry now once more occupied. He had spent most of the previous morning sitting beside the sleeping boy, but in the afternoon he had returned into the main room of the infirmary to help Madam Pomfrey wherever he could. Though most of the injured Aurors had been brought to St. Mungo's by now, some of them had injuries that were too severe to transport them already. 

Remus had been very surprised to hear that actually none of the injured Aurors had suffered from a werewolf bite. There had been many bites, no illusion about that, but the injuries of the ones who got bitten had been too hard to save them anyway. Well, actually this didn't surprise Remus either. Though he had hardly any memories of the night when he himself had been bitten, he knew that he had nearly not survived that night either. Werewolf teeth were sharp, and the wounds they left mostly caused that the victims bled to death if they weren't treated immediately. 

Still there was no official number of the people that died two nights ago, but Remus didn't doubt that it had been more than hundred. And each and every one of them had been one too much.

In the afternoon, Sirius had finally woken up and after some moments of slight disorientation his first question had been if Harry was okay. Not that this had surprised Remus either. He guessed that it was hard to surprise him at all these days.

They had not been able to talk very long, just as Remus had told his friend the most important things that had happened, meaning that both Voldemort and Dumbledore were dead, Madam Pomfrey had rushed by and told him that her patient needed rest. A goblet full of sleeping potion and quite a struggle to make Sirius drink it later, he had been fast asleep again. And had not woken up since then.

After having had a rather sleepless night himself, Remus thought that it would not be very wise to leave Harry alone now.

Harry didn't even hear him enter the room.

He had woken surprisingly early that morning, even before dawn, and had settled himself onto the large windowsill of his small room. With his knees drawn to his chest, he had stared at the sunrise and contemplated everything that had changed during the last couple of days.

Dumbledore was dead.

That thought didn't go off his mind. He still could not imagine that he would never again see the old headmaster, never again see the sparkle in his blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles, never again receive an advice from the man. He associated Hogwarts so much with its old headmaster that he could not imagine life at the castle without him.

In fact, Harry could not imagine what life would be from now on at all. Voldemort was dead. That had been his purpose, hadn't it? He had defeated Voldemort when he had still been a baby, and from the point on when it had become clear that Voldemort wasn't really dead everybody had only waited for the day when he would defeat him again. Once more Harry had stood up against the Dark Lord and this time he had been the winner. And what now? Nobody ever seemed to have thought about that. Harry had fulfilled his purpose for the wizarding world, but what was he supposed to do now? He wasn't needed anymore now that the threat was banned.

With quite a shock Harry had realized that the death of Voldemort had left a huge gap in his life. For as long as he had been a part of the wizarding world, Voldemort had been a part of his life as well and the plans to defeat him had had a huge influence on his life. Now that this was all over, nobody really needed him anymore, did they?

He was startled when suddenly, out of nowhere as it seemed, someone spread a blanket over him. Looking up he found himself face to face with a smiling Remus.

"You must be getting cold without a blanket. Good morning."

Harry tried to return the smile but realized that he was failing.

"Good morning Remus."

Remus sat down at the other end of the windowsill and handed Harry a cup. Harry examined the liquid he had been handed.

"Hot chocolate?"

Remus only smiled.

"Well, it always cheers me up so I thought you could use some of it. I also brought breakfast, if you like."

Harry shook his head. 

"No, not now. But thank you."

"You're welcome. Sirius woke up yesterday. He'll be fine, Madam Pomfrey assured me. He asked about you."  
Harry only nodded and stared into his cocoa. After a while he looked up.

"Remus, what will happen now?"

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, now that Voldemort is defeated. What comes next, what am I supposed to do now?"

Remus just kept on staring at Harry, still not understanding what the boy wanted.

"Harry, I still don't get what you mean."

Harry sighed.

"Well, I have done what everybody expected me to do. And now that Voldemort is gone, it doesn't seem to make sense anymore. Nothing makes sense anymore."

Remus looked at Harry for some long moments while he thought about his answer. He did his best to hide how much Harry's last statement had shocked him. He knew that reaching normality would become difficult, but he had not imagined that Harry didn't even seem to consider leading a normal life as an option. He only hoped that the boy had not talked himself deep into that depression yet.

"Harry, Voldemort has not been the sole purpose of your life. You have school, your friends, Quidditch, Sirius, me, you've got your whole future lying in front of you. And now with Voldemort gone, you are finally able to lead a normal life."

Harry just shook his head.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't know how."

"You just didn't have any chance to lead a normal life yet. It might take some time until things settle down, right now there's a lot of fuzz about Voldemort and his death, the Ministry trying to get things under control and the press trying to get pictures and interviews, but in a couple of days this will be over. And then I'm sure you'll pretty soon learn how to lead a normal life."

Harry shook his head.

"It'll never be normal Remus. Not for me."

Remus sighed.

"It's true that you will probably stay The Boy Who Lived forever. And now that you've played such an important part in killing Voldemort, this won't change, on the contrary it might even increase. But you've coped with it so far, and I'm sure that you'll be able to cope with it in the future. You're not alone with it, Harry. You got people who care about you, you got friends. We'll all help you with what will be. Just don't think too much now Harry, it doesn't do any good. What comes will come and you'll just have to take it then."

Now Harry managed to smile.

"I think I've heard that one before."

"From whom?"

"Hagrid."

Remus thought for a moment, then grinned.

"Oh. Well, I can live with sharing his wisdom, as long as it doesn't mean I have to start cooking like him."

Harry laughed shortly.

"You'd better not, otherwise there won't be anybody left in our household for that job except from me."

He grew silent for a moment and Remus realized that he was struggling very hard with himself.

"That means…if I'm still welcome. After all, I gave Sirius the impression that I didn't appreciate his presence very much."

Remus sighed and closed his eyes. He should have known that Harry would still think along these lines.

"Harry, I am the first person to admit that Sirius can be as stubborn as a mule sometimes, but he's not unforgiving. It's true, you need to sort things out, and some things need to be said that have been kept down by both of you for much too long. The two of you have gone from hardly knowing each other straight to a parent-child relationship without any steps in between, and maybe that was too fast. But Sirius loves you. I know that you'll sort things out eventually, you'll see."

Harry nodded, barely noticeable, and for long minutes both stared out of the window onto the grounds. From Harry's window the grounds in front of the castle could not be seen, and Remus thought that this might be good for Harry. The Ministry had not completely removed all signs of the battle yet and it would take some more time and far more spells to make the grounds look again just like they had done before the attack. 

Remus was startled when Harry suddenly spoke again.

"I miss them."

He didn't need to tell whom he was talking about.

"James and Lily?"

Harry nodded and for some moments he fought against tears again.

"It was…I don't know. It was what I had always wanted and suddenly I had it. I had a family, my parents were there. I felt at home, I felt safe, I felt loved. It was perfect. And then I had to find out that it was only an illusion, that it had never been real. Even worse, that it's been an illusion that Voldemort created to get me out of the way. It feels like I've lost them a second time, just as if Voldemort hat taken them away from me again. Only that they had not been real this time in the first place. He's been toying with me and I fell for it."

Remus was at a loss as to what he should say. He had known that Harry's longing for his parents had been strong, only because of that he had never started doubting his dreams at all. But words were probably of no use for Harry anyway. This was something he would have to make out with himself, and Remus knew that he could do nothing to help the boy except from listen when Harry needed to talk. Not that he liked this, but he would have to accept the fact that he was helpless here. Sirius was the one Harry needed to talk with about this, not him.

"Do you know that Trelawney predicted it?"

Remus frowned his brow. He could not imagine Trelawney predicting anything except from the things that were bound to happen. Harry saw the look of disbelief on his face and laughed.

"Dumbledore said it would happen from time to time. Though significantly she can never remember when she makes a real prediction.

She said that only if I doubted everything I believed and if I sacrificed what I loved most I would be able to defeat Voldemort. It's been true. I mean, only after I realized that it weren't really my parents and after I was able to give them up again it was possible to defeat him."

Remus thought for a moment before he answered.

"I have to admit that I've never been good at Divination, but I don't think that this is what the prediction meant."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"Just try to see it that way: if you had not thrown overboard everything that you had believed before after you woke up from your sleep, then you would most likely not have disobeyed all orders during the night of the attack. Then this confrontation with Voldemort would not have been possible, because you would have never allowed that image of James to take you away from Sirius. And then, when things got tough, you were willing to sacrifice Sirius because you knew that this might be the only chance to defeat Voldemort."

Again, Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"As I said, I'm not very good at Divination, but I don't think that the memory of your parents is what you love most. You're not the kind of person who loses himself that much inside of his own mind. I know you quite well, and I know that you try to keep people away from getting close to you because you're afraid that they might get hurt. But some people managed to get close to you over the years, and those people you love with all your heart. Far more than you could ever love the image of something you never really had.

I guess it wasn't easy for you to let go of the idea that you could have your parents back, but if you're completely honest you know that they've never been a part of your life in the first place. Sirius however, has been. And giving up someone as real as that, someone you had in your life and wanted to keep there, sounds more like sacrificing something beloved to me."

Once more, silence settled into the room when Harry processed what Remus had just told him.

From their window, they could see Hagrid roaming around his hut, Fang at his heels. Harry enjoyed just watching him doing what he did everyday: seeing to his groundkeeper duties and taking care of a strange assortment of magical creatures that had miraculously survived the night of the attack in the backyard of his garden. When Harry let his gaze wander across the grounds, he caught sight of the group of trees in front of which they had been attacked by the fleeing Dementors.

Harry remembered his amazement about Sirius' and Remus' Patroni and taking another sip of his hot chocolate, he posed the question aloud.

"Remus? Can I ask you something?"

Bringing his amber eyes back into focus, Remus looked at Harry.

"Sure."

"I just remembered the Dementors we fought. I have to admit, I was kind of puzzled by your Patroni."

Remus smiled.

"By both of our Patroni, or just about the fact that my Patronus is Padfoot?"  
"Both, though more about the latter."

Remus laughed.

"I would have guessed as much. Did Sirius ever tell you about his family? About his mother?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"Yes, but not much. He told me that she died when he was still very young."

"He was five, I think. You see, his mother was the one who chose his name. 

Sirius once told me that one of the few memories he still has from his mother is the picture of her, sitting with him in the garden where she showed him the star after which he was named. She told him that it was something special to be named after a star, and that somebody that special never needed to fear anything because he's protected from above."  
Remus smiled.

"I think he's very fond of this particular memory, so that's why his Patronus is a comet. It's his protection from above."

Harry nodded.

"And what about yours?"

"Well, nobody was more surprised about my Patronus than I was myself. We were learning the charm in seventh year, and though nobody except from James, Sirius, Peter and myself knew that the dog was Padfoot, we were all very puzzled about it. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Being a werewolf is something you hopefully will never be able to imagine. It's true that the wolf doesn't surface except from that one night a month, but it's definitely there all of the time. Sometimes I hardly feel it, but sometimes it tries to take control over my actions. The evening of the attack was an extreme example. Moony felt the other werewolves and wanted to transform, and he started raging inside of me when he realized that he could not.

Being a werewolf means that you're in a constant fight for the control of your own mind. And one night a month, I have to surrender to the wolf. Completely and unconditionally. And there was nothing I could do about it, no way that I could restrain the wolf during that night. Not until your father, Sirius and Peter decided to become Animagi. 

I think Moony so easily accepted a stag, a rat and a dog as his pack because they had been my friends. They had been the friends of my human self for five years before he even got to know them. They were my pack, and so he accepted them as his pack as well. But there were differences.

Wormtail was no real match for him, that was perfectly clear. Wormtail was fun to play with, Moony could chase him but it was perfectly clear that Moony was the superior.

Prongs was big and strong enough to control Moony, but he was no match for him either. Sure, Prongs was fast and strong, but so was Moony. Both could have easily hurt each other, but I guess in the end Moony would have won. The wolf is a predator, the stag isn't.

That was completely different with Padfoot, and it was right from the start. When Sirius first showed me his animagus form, I felt Moony inside of me howling. Padfoot was no wolf, but he was as close to a wolf as possible – a fellow canine. Not a toy like a rat, no prey like a deer, he was an equal. Padfoot was the only one of the pack who could keep Moony in check on his own. He was the only one who understood Moony's urge to howl at the moon.

And, far more important, he was the only one who could truly protect myself from Moony, and Moony from himself during full moon nights. He could prevent the wolf from hurting himself just by being there and distracting. Distracting Moony from himself as well as from possible prey. He could protect me from making my worst nightmare become true – burdening someone else with that curse. And he did, more than once."

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"It's said that your Patronus is the thing you feel most protected by. And thinking about it, it's not all that surprising that this is Padfoot for me. The borders between myself and the wolf are not very clear, and I think the same is for the protection Padfoot provides for both of us."

Harry nodded and allowed his mind to process what Remus had told him. It made sense. But thinking of Patroni, there was another thing that had been occupying his mind.

"What about the Patronus I cast on the clearing? I still don't know how I did that. I tried to levitate my blanket this morning and still could not manage it, then how was I able to cast a Patronus?"

Remus scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"I don't think I have the answers you want to have, Harry. I'm afraid that all I can say about this will only raise more questions. Previously in situations like this, you always had Albus at your side when you woke up and he had your answers, but I'm afraid I don't."

Tears clouded Harry's eyes when he thought about the old headmaster and how he had always explained what had happened to Harry. He already missed the man dearly.

"I don't think you cast a Patronus on the clearing, Harry."

Harry looked up, quite puzzled.

"Why? I mean, I have to admit that I didn't think about it until I said the incarnation, but I saw the stag coming out of my wand. Though it was different. My Patronus wasn't silver like he had always been, he was brown, just like a real deer."

Remus slowly nodded.

"Harry, do you know what we found when we entered the clearing? There were four bodies lying on the ground, none of them moving. Sirius, you, Albus and Voldemort. And in front of Sirius' body, protecting it, stood a stag. Prongs. I have to admit that I'm slowly getting old, but I think I would never be able to mistake Prongs with another deer. And he was real, well somewhat real. When I tried to approach Sirius, the stag stepped towards me, ready to attack should I prove to be a threat to Sirius. Only after he recognized me and realized that my intention was to help and not to harm Sirius, he vanished."

Remus looked into Harry's eyes for some moments, various emotions crossing his face which Harry couldn't all interpret at once.

"I think that the stag was the only thing that was really connected to James that night. Not the image of him standing there, allowing Voldemort to torture his best friend. But the stag that saved him."

"But how did I conjure him? Or if I didn't, then how was he able to show up at all?"

Remus only shrugged his shoulders.

"I really don't know Harry. Maybe James thought that it was time to help his best friend and to set some things right between them, once and for all. I really don't know, but I'm convinced that it wasn't just a normal Patronus."

Harry slowly nodded and then rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. The conversation had drained him, adding only more to think about to the many things that were already causing fracas in his mind. But nevertheless he felt better then he had done when he had gotten up this morning.

"Come on Harry, you should get back to bed."

Not having any strength left to disobey, Harry nodded, put his empty cup aside and moved over towards his bed. When he had lain down, Remus spread the blanket back over him just as raised voices from the main room started to quarrel. Remus sighed.

"Try to get some more sleep. I'll better have a look at that godfather of yours before Poppy has to sedate him. He makes a horrible patient, mind you."

Harry smiled and watched as Remus left his room, ready to give Sirius back some of his own medicine from not so long ago.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Dumbledore's funeral took place two days later. Harry had spent these days in his small bedroom, not really ready yet to go out and face the reality of it all. The previous afternoon however, Snape had come into his bedroom, accompanied by two Ministry officials. Remus had prepared him that there would be an official questioning, and together they had agreed what parts of his story Harry should tell. They had agreed that Harry should tell them everything that had happened after he had left the castle, but that he should better leave the parts of the time he thought he had spent with his parents out. 

Though Harry had thought that he had been prepared for the questioning, once again telling the events of the night in which Voldemort died had not been an easy task.

Apart from Snape and the Ministry officials, Remus had visited him daily, and the entire Weasley family had dropped by at least twice. Harry was glad that Charlie was indeed alive and, though he was still confused and shocked by what he had nearly done, was on his way to recovery. 

He had yet to meet Sirius again.

The day of the funeral, Harry sat on his bed dressed in black dress robes, and waited for Remus to fetch him. The door to his room stood slightly ajar and from the main room of the infirmary he had been listening to raised voices for about ten minutes right now. Remus and his godfather were quarrelling.

"I will tell you only one more time: you are not well enough to leave your bed for such a long time yet!"

Remus sounded exasperated by now, but somehow Harry doubted that he could convince Sirius, no matter what he tried.

"Then I will tell you only once more that if you want to stop me from going to Dumbledore's funeral, you'll have to tie me to the bedposts."

"Well, if it's that what you want…"

"_Expelliarmus!"  
"Sirius, give me my wand back right now!"_

"As soon as I'm dressed you'll get your wand back. I will go to the funeral, I have to. Every other headmaster would have expelled me during third year latest, and he believed in me and my innocence when nobody else did. Without him, I would probably not be here anymore, and I owe him at least this much and be there at his funeral."

Remus sighed deeply.

"Fine, if you think you must. But if you collapse, don't expect me to pity you. I told you that it was too much. I'm going to get Harry now."

When Remus entered the room, Harry could not hide the smile that spread across his face. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"As glad as I am to see you smiling again, but would you care to tell me what is so funny?"

Harry's smile spread even further.

"Oh, I just thought that I have heard that kind of conversation before. Just that then the roles were somewhat reversed."

Remus grimaced painfully at the memory.

"Okay, okay. I get your point. Ready to go?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, not really. But then I think I never would."

Remus nodded sympathetically and Harry got up from the bed. Remus opened the door and for the first time since he had been brought back into the castle, Harry left his small bedroom and stood again face to face with his godfather.

One look at Sirius told Harry why Remus was making such a fuss about him leaving bed for the funeral. Sirius was pale, his dark hair that he had tied back in a ponytail stood in extreme contrast to his white face. There were huge shadows under his eyes and he steadied himself with one hand on the post of his bed. When he saw Harry, he smiled weakly. Harry tried to look away, but couldn't help to shyly return the smile.

"Hi Harry. How are you?"

Harry nodded.

"Fine, thank you. And you?"

"Better. Though Remus thinks I'm some kind of invalid or something."

While saying the last part, he cast a murderous glare towards Remus, before he turned his eyes back on Harry again. There was a tense silence for some moments, which was finally broken when Remus ushered them to go. Not before he had grabbed his wand back from Sirius' hand.

The funeral itself was one of the saddest things Harry could remember. Dumbledore's casket had been on a bier in the Great Hall during the last days, and this was where the ceremony was held. The Great Hall was filled with masses of people, mostly students, teachers, former students and Ministry members. Harry inwardly suspected that the Great Hall had been stretched magically to fit in all the people who wanted to attend the funeral.

Dumbledore's brother Alberforth, an equally old man with a great resemblance to his late headmaster, though he wore his hair and beard shorter and robes in a daring colour combination, held a speech of which Harry could not remember much in the end. 

Nobody really did.

All through the speech, Harry stared at the casket and thought about the man who had for such a long time been a crucial part of his life. He thought about the first time he had seen him, here in the Great Hall, at the feast on his first evening as a Hogwarts student. About the end of his first year when Dumbledore had sat at his side and had told him more about his parents. His thoughts drifted off to various occasions like this one, when Harry had been through another rough encounter and Dumbledore had just remained unruffled and listened, calming Harry by his mere presence. As long as Dumbledore had been there, Harry had never doubted that things would be alright in the end. Now the old man was gone and he left a gap which Harry was sure nobody would ever be able to fill.

Remus, sitting at Harry's side, was thinking along the same lines. He couldn't help but remember the day when he was ten and his parents had taken him to Hogwarts for the first time. There in Dumbledore's office he had sat on a chair in front of the headmaster's desk, scared out of his wits and not really knowing why he had been brought here in the first place. Dumbledore's eyes had sparkled behind his half-moon glasses and he had simply asked Remus whether he would want to come to Hogwarts. It had been like a dream come true for him. 

Just like the day four years ago when Dumbledore had apparated into his small cottage and had asked him whether he could imagine to teach Defence. He owed it to Dumbledore that he had been allowed to become a fully qualified wizard, something which not many others would have enabled him. Dumbledore had been a fortress, never wavering no matter how much the wizarding world was once again in uproar. He had always been someone Remus could turn to in times of need, and now he was gone. Remus didn't know whether he should smile at the memories that surfaced or whether he should cry. He definitely felt like crying, but somehow he could not imagine that Dumbledore would have wanted people to break down in despair at his funeral. It didn't seem like something the old wizard would have wanted.

Looking around, Remus found that not everybody seemed to think along the same lines. Amongst the hundreds of people who had come to attend he funeral, many were crying their eyes out as it seemed. But Remus realized that none of those who had been close to Dumbledore did so. 

Albus' brother Alberforth held his speech with a great sadness in his voice, but his whole bearing was more that of a proud than a grieving brother. 

Snape had his eyes fixed on the casket, but seemed to be somewhere completely else in his mind. Amongst everybody here in the hall, he was probably the one who had been closest to Dumbledore during the last years. Not only because of his function as a spy. Ever since Dumbledore had given the former Death Eater a second chance in life, a truly strong friendship had developed between the two men. Both had accepted each other with all their quirks and failures, and while Dumbledore had been concerned about Snape's wellbeing whenever he sent him away on another dangerous mission, Snape had done everything in his might to prevent his mentor from any harm by the hands of the Death Eaters. More than once he had risked his cover to warn Dumbledore about another plot against his life and Hogwarts' safety. And Remus was sure that he didn't even know half of what had happened between the two other men.

On his right side, Sirius was staring off into space. Remus had no doubt that his friend was thinking about one of the various occasions at which the four of them had been hauled into Dumbledore's office after another of their pranks had been discovered. Dumbledore had always had a smile and a twinkle in his eyes for them instead of harsh and reprimanding words. He had been very fond of the four mischief makers, leaving the task to punish them mostly in the hands of McGonagall. Only this one time, the day after Sirius had told Snape how to open the passage under the Whomping Willow, this had been different. But Remus was sure that Sirius wasn't thinking of that day right now.

And surely McGonagall next to Sirius didn't, because a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. But then, she had mostly smiled about the old wizard's strange antics. Not openly, mind you, but in the staff room or when she thought that nobody was looking at her. 

Remus was so lost in his own thoughts that it took him a moment to realize that Alberforth had finished speaking and everybody was filing out of the Great Hall, following Dumbledore's casket on his last way. Looking around, he found that Harry was still staring ahead as well and carefully, not wanting to startle the boy, he put a hand on his shoulder.

Harry nodded and got up, following the large procession of people out of the castle. They took the way out of the backdoor of the castle, over the grounds and then up a hill until they reached some kind of plateau. Though he was not really paying attention to the outside world, Harry realized that he had never been on this particular place on the Hogwarts grounds before. 

By the time they reached their destination, Sirius was leaning heavily onto Remus for support, looking as if he was about to collapse any moment. Though the walk had only taken a couple of minutes it had strained Sirius more than he was willing to admit. But he was grateful that Remus offered his support without reminding him that he had told him so.

Dumbledore's casket was lowered into a grave in a circle of other graves ('other former headmasters', Hermione told him later), and after some more moments of silent respect, the grave magically closed himself until no sign hinted anymore at the fact that it had been just recently dug out.

In the end, Harry could not remember how he had gotten back into the castle, he only remembered that he spent the rest of the day sitting in the Gryffindor common room together with Ron and Hermione. Though Harry was still not really able to do magic, Madam Pomfrey had seen no other reason to keep him in the infirmary anymore.

He would spend the night in Gryffindor tower together with Ron and Hermione and all the other Gryffindor students who had come for the funeral, and the next morning they would return to their homes. School had been cancelled for the next two weeks, until the new headmistress McGonagall and the other teachers had made a decision on how to continue the school year.

Later in the evening most of the students who had decided to stay had already retired to their dormitories and only Ron and Hermione had remained in front of the fireplace together with Harry. Ron and Hermione shared a sofa while Harry had taken an armchair next to them. 

Harry had been glad that his two friend had finally come to their senses and told each other what they felt, but as he now once more looked at their entwined fingers, another thought came to his mind. It was only the end of January, Valentine's Day was not even close.

"Erm, Ron?"  
Ron looked up at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Just in case I don't see Ginny anymore before you head home tomorrow, could you tell her something for me?"

"Well, yes. What is it?"

"Tell her that she owes me ten galleons from the jackpot."

Harry grinned but Ron only stared at his friend, obviously not understanding what he was talking about. Then he followed Harry's gaze to his and Hermione's entwined hands, and suddenly understanding dawned on him.

"Harry James Potter, you don't want to tell me that you've been betting on my love-life, do you?"

Harry grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"Not on your love-life in general, and it has not been my idea, I swear!"

"You don't want to tell me that Ginny…that she…that my sister did that?"

Harry nodded when suddenly a voice from behind them asked.

"Ginny did what?"

Turning around, they found that Remus had entered the common room and was smiling at them. Harry gestured him to take a seat.

"Ginny did establish a betting round on when Hermione and I would become a couple."

Remus grinned.

"Yeah, I know. Harry won the jackpot, didn't he? I was rather disappointed myself, I thought it would take you till March at least."  
Now both, Ron and Hermione, stared wide-eyes and open-mouthed at their professor.

"You…you as well…you were betting?"

Remus enjoyed their faces for a moment before he raised his hand in a calming gesture.

"No, I didn't, though I have to admit that I knew about it. Ginny didn't actually keep it a secret, you know? But you should have seen the looks on your faces!"

Remus broke into laughter, and soon the three teens could not help but follow straight. It felt good to laugh again after all the seriousness and grieve this day had brought. It took them a while to compose themselves again, before Harry raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What brings you here so late in the evening? Surely not talking about Ron's and Hermione's love life."

Remus laughed.

"As tempting as it might sound, but you're right. McGonagall and the staff have made a decision concerning the rest of the school year, and I thought that you would like to hear it before tomorrow."

Seeing the eager nods on the three faces in front of him, Remus continued.

"Well, it's been decided that as soon as the wizarding community has fully realized that the threat of Voldemort has been finally banned, there will surely be a lot of celebrations. They don't quite dare to celebrate yet, after they were so quick with doing so fifteen years ago and then Voldemort had not vanished at all. But as soon as they realized that this time he's gone for good, there will be celebrations all over the country. And the families will want to spend some time with their children. Not to mention that the castle and its grounds will have to be completely restored before school life can continue here.

Well, to make a long story short, we've decided that it might be best to cancel school until the beginning of May."

Three mouths dropped down synchronously.

"May? That's three months away!"

Hermione was the first to regain speech again. Remus only nodded.

"Yes, it is. But in May, school will start and you'll have a compact term until the middle of August when you'll take your end of the year exams. Then you'll have another two weeks of holiday before the new terms starts."

That now didn't sound as good as the news of three months off from school, but it appeared to be bearable.

"McGonagall will become Headmistress, won't she? But who will be deputy headmaster or mistress?"

Remus smiled a somewhat pained smile.

"Well Hermione, Minerva will become Headmistress, that's true. As far as her deputy is concerned, well…she chose Severus."

"What???"  
Ron could not believe his ears and Harry didn't seem to pleased as well.

"Severus Snape? Deputy headmaster? He will be even more a pain in the ass when he's deputy headmaster!"

Ron's rage however, was interrupted when Hermione started to laugh. Three heads turned towards her, her two friends had a look of sheer disbelief in their eyes.

"Hermione, pray, what on Earth is so funny about this?"  
Hermione took some moments to let the laughter subside, then she grinned at the three others.

"Well, with you all being purebloods I should have known you didn't really know it."

"Know what Mione?"  
"Well Harry, do you really think that if you're raised as a muggle, you just jump ahead and say 'yes, of course' when suddenly a letter is delivered that tells you you're accepted in a school of magic? I can tell you, me and my parents didn't. Two days after the letter arrived, McGonagall came for a visit and told my parents and me about Hogwarts and showed us that magic really existed. She said that this was amongst her duties as deputy headmistress."

Harry stared at her for some moments, and when the facts finally trickled through, he began to laugh just like Hermione had done minutes ago.

"You want to tell me that Snape now has to visit all muggle-born students before the school starts and has to convince them that magic really exists?"

Hermione nodded.

That was too much for Ron. He broke into laughter, a laughing fit that actually forced him to hold his stomach and tighten his grip on the sofa so that he would not fall to the floor. Even Remus laughed when he pictured his former fellow student in various muggle homes, especially since he knew what Severus thought about most muggles.

The four of them stayed up until late that night, talking about this and that and nothing in particular, carefully avoiding to talk about anything related to the events of the past days. It was well past three in the morning when Remus bid them goodbye and remembered Harry that they would go home after breakfast the next morning. Madam Pomfrey had agreed to let Sirius out of the infirmary under the condition that Remus took care that his friend continued seeing to his recovery at home. Sirius didn't really look forward to this, and Harry had to admit that he too worried about what would await him once they returned home.


	18. Home

_Yepp, it's done! This is the last chapter of the story, there's only an epilogue coming up. If you think that this chapter doesn't answer the questions you still might have about the whole battle thing, don't worry. They'll probably be covered in the epilogue. _

_And – if I manage to do it, there'll be a little preview for my **new story at the end of the epilogue. I have a rather interesting plot bunny sitting on my shoulder for some days now, and if I can develop a storyline out of it, then I think we'll have another story quite soon. Though no sequel, I think. But our favourite characters will surely all appear in it, though it might become an AU. But I don't quite know yet, we'll have to see.**_

_But there will be a lot more space to talk at the end of the epilogue, so why don't we cover chapter 18 first? The epilogue won't be up until the end of the week earliest._

_So, here we go once more with the A/N:_

_Leap__ of Fate: It's sad, but it was necessary. But you're right, it's over soon. I'm already a little sad about it, and it will surely get worse._

_naughtynat__: Yes, I think you mentioned that you're not particularly fond of Voldie somewhere between the lines *g*._

_phoenix220__: Thanks for all the reviews, I enjoyed every single one. Unfortunately, you didn't really have to suffer under the cliffie at the end of chapter 15. Well fortunately for you, but you missed all the fun! I know that the battle chapters were a bit confusing, but I could not think of a better way to do it. And I guess it was bearable._

_Remus and Sirius left Harry alone at the greenhouses because he was temporarily safe there and they didn't want to get him involved in any fighting. They were just being protective. Weather in __Germany__ is awful, winter has finally struck. Up to -21°C on the coast, -12°C here. I'm freezing!_

_I hope your quiz went alright and I didn't keep you from studying. It's already enough if I keep myself from doing so! But I'm glad you prefer my story over maths books. I can understand that, I HATE maths. But gladly, I don't have to do it anymore, not while studying Political Science. *g*_

_And yes, I have another story idea. A small preview of a scene from the middle (with the beginning and ending not even written, let alone having a fix plotline) will be at the end of the next post, the epilogue._

_Ms.__ Issues: I completely agree. The Snape part was added so that it wasn't that sad. And I just love the idea…read anaticulapraecantrix' review for the chapter, she had a great scene in mind about how this might end…_

_sarahpeach__: I wanted to keep them formal, because they don't quite know how to act around each other after all that happened. But they'll be talking in this chapter, so please hold the hatemails and angry reviews. The talk you've all been demanding since chapter 6 or so is approaching now. Somewhat at least…Actually it was quite difficult to bring Sirius back in, I had focussed so much on Remus during the last chapters. He's better to write for me, not so emotional but far more logic and reasonable. Similar to me. But Sirius mostly is fun to write, too, so here he is back again!_

_The idea about convincing the muggles I actually gathered from another fic, where Hermione gets shown by McGonagall after receiving her letter. It was a good fic, but I don't remember its title anymore. I borrowed the idea, I have to admit. Not mine._

_Don't worry__, James/Prongs is not really alive and has somehow miraculously survived. I don't like those fics either, they always lack a good explanation for it. But it somehow was Prongs on the clearing, the real Prongs. But not alive again, it was simply – MAGIC! *g* When I thought about the ending (while writing Harry's and Sirius' fight), somehow the image of Prongs protecting his old friend came to my mind and wouldn't go away. Glad you all liked it._

_Bookworm2000__: We can agree on that Columbus grudge thing, I think. And yes, Sirius has to visit the muggle houses. Hilarious, isn't it?_

_Starlette__: I ask myself whether the muggleborns will still want to attend Hogwarts now. And no, Dumbledore didn't leave a note. I thought about that possibility after writing his conversations with Snape and Remus (I knew that he would die *g*), but then I left it because I didn't really know what to write in it. And I thought the idea was better if the ones left behind have to find their answers themselves. After all, now with Dumbledore gone they have to get used to it. And he wasn't the only wise wizard in existence, Remus is very perceptive and knowing, even if not quite to the same extend._

_As to where Harry being expelled will lead…here are some words for you: revelations, kidnapping, love (romance…maybe that's why I'm stuck writing), near-death-experiences, ancient rites, Voldemort, Lucius,…*g*_

_Bobbi__: Remus evil? Well, he makes Sirius stay in bed. And it's quite a struggle. If that's evil, then YES._

_Kelly__: I wonder whether there will be less muggle-borns attending Hogwarts now, with Snape coming to their homes. Tad bit intimidating that man, if you ask me. *g*_

_solarphoenix__: I guess Flamel is long dead by now. I mean, he still had elixir, but only enough to settle his affairs as Dumbledore said. I was just wondering how long that lasted, because he was never again mentioned. But I'm fairly sure he's none of the 'old crowd'. Sorry, but no sequel to this story. At least none planned yet. But Valeria is still out there…maybe someday, if a plot bunny hops up to me._

_A.Dee__: Yepp, Remus is mothering Sirius now. And there will be talking. Just read and see. And unfortunately it's really over pretty soon now. *sigh*_

_juggling__ stars: I had to add the bit about Snape visiting the muggles, otherwise the chapter would have become way too depressing. Glad you liked it!_

_my__ fan (none): At least that's how I interpreted that name, though I still don't know what that none means. But anyway. No, they are in sixth year. The Last Marauder starts before Harry's sixth year, and The Final __Battle__ begins after Christmas that year. Did I write seventh year somewhere? If yes then sorry, that's a mistake then._

_sara__*__magic__: Ah, that's you! They will have their talk this chapter, at least they'll try. But it will continue until in the epilogue, you'll see then. About the sequel: It sounds tempting, and without really intending it, I left that option open by letting Valeria get away. But not anytime soon, maybe sometime later._

_Loki__: Thanks for all the little reviews, they're pretty funny. Especially the way you keep on demanding for more *g*. I'm special? *blushes* Thank you, I'm glad that so many people obviously like my story. About the sequel: Not anytime soon, but it's possible. But there will be a new story from me coming up soon, am already developing the plot._

_nameless__: Maybe there will be a sequel, but not now. I need a new plotline, starting somewhere completely different. But a sequel is not ruled out, maybe after that._

_anaticulapraecantrix__: LOL! That idea is great! Maybe, I say maybe, if there is a sequel one day, do you allow me to use that sequence? Would be a shame to waste such a great idea!_

_That's it for the second to last post, all I can do now is leave you with the long awaited chapter._

_Enjoy!_

**Home**

Returning to Black Cottage was nothing like it had been when Harry had gone home during the previous Christmas break.

Though Remus didn't like it, he had to admit that he had been wrong concerning his thoughts about returning home. He had believed that with Voldemort finally gone, Harry and Sirius now could take their time to heal their wounds, both physical and in mind. He would have never believed that he had been so wrong.

Attending the funeral had strained Sirius to his limits, just like Remus had predicted it would. But knowing that his friend had felt he needed to pay Dumbledore his last respects, Remus refrained from reminding him that he had told him so.

Sirius spent the first week at home in his bedroom, and though he complained all the time that he was fine and that Remus was exaggerating things to pay him back for the months during which their roles had been reversed, inwardly he knew that Remus was right. He was still far too weak to be up for longer periods of time, so he always gave in after a short struggle and stayed in his bedroom while Remus fed him painkilling- and sleeping potions and took care of the house. But Sirius was stubborn, and after his condition had improved after a week of forced rest in his bed, there was nothing Remus could do to keep him there any longer.

If he was honest, Remus was glad that Sirius was at least physically returning to normality again. For one, it was a plague to take care of Sirius while he was not well, he was the worst patient Remus remembered to have ever seen. Every potion had to be forced down his throat, every hour of sleep had to be enforced and in addition to that Sirius had a tendency to sneak out of bed when he thought that nobody was watching. Once, Remus had caught him at the bottom of the stairs, heading towards the living room. But he had been too strained and tired out to move any further and had nearly collapsed so that Remus had had to levitate him back into his bedroom again. After this incident it had been a little easier to keep Sirius in bed with the threat of tying him to the bedposts if he attempted something similar once again.

But the main reason why Remus was glad that Sirius was doing better was that his concern about Harry had increased during the days he had spent at home.

Ever since they had returned from Hogwarts, Harry had shifted into what he himself called 'Dursley-mode'. Though Remus didn't know about that particular detail, he clearly realized the outcomes of this. Harry was present at mealtimes, but other than that, he tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. During the first week, while Remus had been too occupied with keeping Sirius in his bed, this had gone pretty well. Remus and he ate together three times a day, in the evenings they practiced magic to get Harry back to the level he had been at before casting the spell, but other than that Harry stayed in his room and tried to pretend that he wasn't there. A couple of times during the first days Remus tried to make Harry talk again, he wanted him to share what was going on inside of him like he had done in the hospital wing. But Harry blocked all these attempts just like he blocked out all contact with his godfather.

Harry seemed to have completely withdrawn into himself, brooding over whatever was going on inside of him alone in his room for the entire day. He was blocking everything out, especially the thought about Sirius.

After Sirius started leaving his room again however, this became harder and harder for Harry. Though Remus still spent most of his time hovering around Sirius, telling his old friend that he needed rest and that he would call Madam Pomfrey and Snape to give him tranquillizers if Sirius didn't follow his orders, it became harder for Harry to make his presence unnoticed. 

Sirius and Harry didn't talk to each other, except from various 'good mornings', 'good nights' and 'could you please pass the salt' conversations. Remus did his best to get the two talking to each other again, but after a couple of days realized that this was about as easy as to convince Severus to adopt a child. Even more difficult, if Remus was the one to judge.

It wasn't as if Harry and Sirius were openly antagonistic towards each other, not at all. Of course they weren't overly friendly as well. They were trying to avoid each other as much as possible, neither of them looking into the other's eyes when they were in the same room and always quick in finding excuses to leave if they were forced to meet. It was just as if both of them were waiting for the other one to make the first step, but neither of them was willing to be the one to do this.

Remus knew that Sirius and Harry needed to talk, and urgently so, but he just could not think of a way to make them see this as well. 

Harry couldn't fool Remus, the werewolf knew exactly that the boy had not even begun to cope with all that had happened to him during the last couple of weeks. How could he? To start coping he would need to start with all that was standing between Sirius and him right now, and Remus didn't see any hint that Harry was aware of that. 

Remus was at a loss as to what to do.

Ten days after the three had returned to Black Cottage, Remus was completely and utterly fed up with the situation. 

The three of them had lunch together, just as they had done the previous days. After eating not really much, Harry had quickly excused himself from the kitchen and gone upstairs into his room again, no doubt to continue brooding over his misery. Remus watched him leave with a sigh and turned his attention to Sirius, who was listlessly picking his steak with his fork.

"Don't you think it's about time that the two of you have a long overdue talk?"

Sirius looked up somewhat startled, clearly his mind had been somewhere else.

"Huh?"

"Harry and you, Sirius. You need to talk, it can't go on like this."

Sirius shook his head and kept on assaulting the steak with his fork. After some moments, he spoke.

"I don't think that he wants to talk to me, Remus. You talk to him, you're good with those kind of things."

Again, Remus sighed. It would not take much more and he'd lock the two of them up in a room together until they had either started talking, shouting or hexing each other. He didn't really care which of those at the moment, everything seemed to be an improvement compared to the momentary situation.

"No Sirius, it's your thing to do. Listen, I know that you're still hurt about how Harry behaved towards you, I know that you still want and have earned an explanation for it, and I also know that you still don't understand completely what happened during the night of the attack.

But Harry is not doing fine, no matter how much he pretends that he can handle it. He's bottling everything up and he's shutting us out. It can't go on like that, it's not healthy for either one of you, let alone the relationship between the two of you. 

Both of you are hurt and both of you want to go back to where you were before all this happened, but neither of you is able to make the first step. That's ridiculous Sirius, for fuck's sake finally start behaving like an adult.

And if you don't stop attacking your food, I'll hex you from here to next Tuesday!"

With the last statement, he grabbed the fork from Sirius' hand and shot him a reprimanding look, not very much unlike the one he would have given a small child. But Sirius didn't really seem to notice. He merely stared ahead, his gaze somewhat foggy, and seemed to contemplate what Remus had just told him.

Remus was right, of course. Remus was nearly always right, Sirius knew that much. And he knew that he needed to speak to Harry, but hell, so much had happened during the previous three weeks that Sirius' mind was already buzzing when he only attempted to understand it. How on Earth was he supposed to have a conversation with Harry amidst all this confusion? Especially since his godson didn't seem willing to talk, not at all.

He shook his head and got up from the table.

"I think I'll go back to bed. I'm quite tired all of a sudden."

With this, he left the kitchen and went upstairs, leaving Remus open-mouthed behind him. After some moments, he regained his composure again and yelled after his friend, letting out at least some of the fury that had started rising in him constantly during the last couple of days.

"Fine, go to your room and shut everybody out as well! Sirius Black, you're acting like a fucking five year old kid, you're not helping things with it!"

He kicked hard against the kitchen counter and smashed a glass to the floor for emphasis before he realized what he was doing and calmed down again before the wolf got the better of him. Only a couple of days left till the next full moon, not the very best time for problems like these. He quickly mended the glass with a wave of his wand and then went into the living room.

For the next two hours, Remus paced the living room, desperately searching for a solution.

Harry didn't shown up downstairs after lunch that day, so around five o'clock Remus prepared a plate of sandwiches, put them on a tray with a jug of pumpkin juice and two glasses and levitated it upstairs towards Harry's room. When he knocked and entered, he found Harry sitting on his bed, pretending to read a book. Remus was fairly sure that he was only pretending, unless Harry had learned the art of upside-down reading during the last couple of days.

"Hi Harry."

He sat down on the foot end of the bed and placed the tray in between them. Harry looked up and put the book aside. He eyed the tray carefully, then gave Remus a questioning look.

"Why do you bring the food upstairs? I could have come down to eat."

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know and it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Harry shook his head and both started to eat in silence. When they had finished, Remus put the tray aside and the silence grew more tense. Harry kept staring at his book while Remus nervously fiddled with this thumbs over the comforter. Finally, he looked up.

"Harry, I wanted to talk to you."

Harry sighed and continued staring at the book while Remus frantically searched for his next words, hoping they would come out right.

"I was wondering whether you would like to spend some time with the Weasleys."

Harry's head shot up, his eyes wide with shock.

"You want me to leave?"

Harry's expression changed into the one of a hurt and rejected child so quickly that it pained Remus. He had hoped never to see this expression again after the beginning of the last summer. Remus quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"I don't want you to do anything. But during the last couple of days I had an eye on you, and more than once I got the impression that you'd rather be anywhere else but here."

Harry cast his eyes down onto his hands and blushed. Remus continued.

"Harry, I know that a lot of things must be going through your mind and you need to talk about it. You need to let it out, otherwise it won't get better. I had hoped that once we returned here, you'd be able to start coping with all that has happened, but I get the impression that you're feeling worse with each day that passes. I was thinking that…well, the Weasleys have been a family for you long before Sirius and I even came into your life, and I thought that maybe you'd be able to talk with Ron, Molly or Arthur more easily than you're obviously able to talk with Sirius and me."

"You think I don't trust you?"

Harry didn't even look up, so he could not see Remus feverishly shaking his head.

"No Harry, no that's not what I thought. But the situation between Sirius and you is tense, to put it mildly, and though I'm still convinced that the two of you need to talk about what happened, maybe you need some space on your own first, to get your head clear."

Harry shook his head.

"I think the Weasleys have enough to deal with already. But I'll owl and ask if I can stay with them if you want me to leave."

Remus cupped Harry's chin with his hand and forced him to meet his gaze. 

"You don't listen to me. I don't want you to go away, not at all. I want to know what you think is best for you. If you want to stay here it's perfectly alright, but if you feel that you'd be better off somewhere else, then I want you to know that it's okay."

Harry freed his face from Remus' grasp and lay down on his side, curling up into a small ball. Remus watched him for some moments, not really knowing how to react to this behaviour. 

"I really don't know what I want Remus. I…I think it would be a good idea to just have a break and get away from it all, but I don't think it would make things better. I really don't know what to do Remus."

"Harry, please talk to Sirius. Talk to him before things get out of hand."

A tear slowly made his way down Harry's cheek.

"I decide to talk to him every evening. Every evening I tell myself that the next day I'll talk to him. But then I can't. He doesn't even look at me, Remus. He blames me, I know it."

"Harry, that's rubbish and you know it."

"No Remus, I know it. I recognize that behaviour. That's how people looked at me after fourth year. When nobody believed that Voldemort had risen again. They all blamed me for Cedric's death, just like Sirius blames me now. And he's right. It was my fault that all this happened to him, my fault that he got tortured and nearly killed, and it was my fault that Dumbledore is dead now. I only wish that Dumbledore had taught me the second spell, then we'd all be better off. Dumbledore was important, and now he's gone while I'm still here, completely useless. It's not right that he's dead and I'm alive, it's not fair."

That moment, something inside of Remus snapped. Enough was enough.

He grabbed Harry by the sleeve of his jumper and pulled him into a sitting position. Once more forcing Harry to look into his eyes, he decided to end this once and for all.

"Listen to me, because I will not repeat myself. What happened two weeks ago was nothing you had the power to change. Albus knew that he would die and he accepted this because it was more important for him to defeat Voldemort. He had lived his life, he was aware of what would happen. And though he is missed, it's been the right decision. You have your entire life in front of you, and we are all glad that you are still alive. If you had died, nobody would have been happy about it, do you understand me? Nobody. It would not have been better if you had died."

Harry nodded weakly and Remus could tell that he still had not gotten through to the boy. With a sigh, he pulled Harry from the bed and to his feet.

"What are you doing Remus?"

"What I should have done for some time now. This has to end."

With this, he pulled Harry out of the door, down the staircase and into the living room. He pushed him down into an armchair and turned towards the door again. In the doorframe, he turned around once more and raised a finger at Harry.

"You don't move. I'll be back in a minute."

He vanished and climbed up the stairs again. Harry could not hear what he was doing, but after five minutes he returned, a very sleepy Sirius at his heels. Treating him just like he had treated Harry, he pushed him down onto a sofa and threw a blanket at him. Sirius took the blanket, obviously still not really awake, while Remus went into the kitchen and returned after a short while with a pot of tea and two cups.

Sirius yawned.

"Remus, what is this all about? I've been sleeping and so far you've always complained about me being up too much."

Remus put the tray down and looked into his friend's eyes. His expression was unreadable.

"I will tell you what this is all about. I've been watching the two of you for more than long enough right now. This has to end, otherwise I'll go insane. A lot of things have happened during the last couple of weeks and it's time that you two finally come to your senses and talk about it.

Harry, you've hurt Sirius with the way you've behaved towards him and so far have not even made an attempt to explain yourself.

Sirius, your godson is digging himself deeper and deeper into his depression and you don't even seem to care about it.

And this will end right now, because I don't intend to watch this anymore and pick up the pieces when it's too late. You two will start talking now.

I don't expect everything to be alright by tomorrow morning, on the contrary I would be more than just surprised if it was like that. But I want you to make a start right now."

With this, he turned around and left the room, leaving two very confused wizards behind.

Well, confused was probably an understatement in both cases. Sirius still wasn't fully awake yet and desperately tried to get a hold onto reality and what he was supposed to do now, while Harry was frantically searching for a way to get out of the room. He had told Remus the truth, he had decided to talk to Sirius every evening before going to bed, but being forced into this talk was something completely different.

Harry sighed.

"Full moon is in a couple of days. It's not good to argue with Remus around this time."

Sirius laughed shortly.

"Whom are you telling? I've lived with it ten months a year for seven years. That's seventy weeks during which I had to watch my mouth while I was around him. And I won't even mention all the years since we left school."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to get fully awake at last.

"Listen Sirius, if you want to lie down again, we can always continue this tomorrow."  
Sirius shook his head.

"No, maybe it's good that Remus has finally lost his patience. We really need to talk."

Both stared at their cups for some minutes, each of them waiting for the other to make the first step, to say the first word. But none of them said something.

Inwardly, Sirius was scolding himself very colourfully. He had never had problems in finding the right words, and for fuck's sake, he was the adult here. He was supposed to know what to do, wasn't he? But then why was his head so completely empty right now?

He was glad when Harry eventually broke the silence.

"Remus supposed that I could go to the Weasleys for some time. I think I'll owl Ron tomorrow if I can come over, I need some space."

Harry looked up, but if he had suspected that Sirius would be glad about this turn, then he was disappointed. His godfather feverishly shook his head.

"No, I won't allow you to run away. Not now. It's already difficult enough the way it is, delaying what needs to be done makes it only worse. No, I won't allow you to leave for Ron's just now."

"Oh, and what 'needs to be done' so urgently?"

Harry didn't even bother to keep his voice low. Sirius did his best to remain calm, but realized that he would not be able to keep that up for very long if Harry was about to start being stubborn right now.

"You and I need to talk about what happened. I still don't know half of it. I would very much like to know what happened while you were asleep, what happened that made you react like you did. There are still plenty of things that stand between us, and I don't like that this has happened.

And then we need to talk about what happened during the night of the attack. For example why all of a sudden an image of James was running around on Hogwarts' grounds and especially why you were so willing to follow him. What happened on the clearing after I passed out, aside from the fact that both Albus and Voldemort are dead. There are still many things we need to talk about, and you'll have enough time to visit Ron after we're through with it."

Harry jumped to his feet.

"Some things never change, do they? Again, it's only about what you want, what you think is important! You, you, you! You don't even care about what I might want. You don't care that it might be better for me to get my distance from all this! You don't care about me at all!"

"If I didn't care about you, then I would personally pack your bags and apparate you to the Burrow, wishing you good riddance and then booking a trip to the Bahamas! But I do care about you, that's why I won't let you run away from your problems now. 

I know you, Harry. I know that if I let you leave now, then you'll try to make out everything with yourself, and when you return you'll pretend that you're all fine. But not this time. Letting your problems eat you up from the inside might have worked while you were still living with those dratted muggle relatives of yours, but I won't allow that to happen. We've had such a good start Harry, I don't want the last few weeks to stand between us and ruin all of that!"

"Then forget about it. Why can't we do ourselves a favour and forget that the last weeks have happened at all?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Because that won't work. I can't just forget that you've completely rejected and ignored me for nearly two weeks, not without knowing the reason. Merlin, I still don't know any possible reason for it and I think you owe me at least an explanation."

Harry bit his lower lip, trying to prevent his anger from rising any further. He didn't want to talk about it, let alone even think about it, couldn't Sirius understand that?

He shook his head.

"I…I can't. Sorry, but I can't. I can't give you the answers you want to hear from me. I just can't."

With this, Harry turned around and ran out of the room. Sirius sank back into the sofa with a sigh. This had been exactly the reason why he had delayed that conversation for as long as possible. Maybe he had waited too long.

After all, Harry was sixteen years old already, the summer after this he'd be leaving Hogwarts and start a life of his own. What he needed was a place he could return to during the remaining holidays, a place where he would be friendly welcome. He definitely didn't need a godfather who was fretting around him just because he had no idea how being a parental figure worked. Maybe Harry was right, maybe he should just forget about the last couple of weeks and try to be a friend for him instead of a parent.

"Don't even try to think that. Harry needs you now, though he won't admit it."

Sirius jumped nearly three feet into the air.  
"Remus! Do you want to give me a heart attack? And how did you do that? Can you read my mind?"

Remus laughed.

"No, but I know you. You only look that resigned when you're about to give something up."

He sat down in the armchair Harry had recently occupied and looked at his friend from intense eyes.

"I'm worried about Harry, Sirius. Really worried. While he was still in the hospital wing, I had the feeling that I could reach him, but that's gone completely by now. We've had a very long talk the day after he woke up, but right now it seems that even telling me what he wants for breakfast is already too much for him. He's shutting us out Sirius, he thinks he can manage this all for himself, but I'm afraid this will break him.

Did you know that he blames himself for everything that happened during the night of the attack? He blames himself that you got trapped and tortured and he blames himself that Albus died. Only half an hour ago he told me that it would be better if he had died and Albus had lived.

Sirius, it can't go on like this. I don't know what we can do about it, but we have to do something. The two of you have been close before, and I can't get rid of the feeling that Harry won't heal until he knows that you can get there again."

Sirius buried his face in his hands.

"Remus, I don't know what to do. He won't even tell me what happened to make him change his mind in the first place. How on Earth am I supposed to help him if I can't even reach him? Can you tell me how we can return to what we had only months ago if he doesn't even tell me why he pushed me so far away in the first place?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"I really don't know, Sirius. Maybe he is afraid that the answers you're asking of him will only make it worse."

"He told you what it was all about, he told you what happened while he was asleep, didn't he?"

Remus looked up into Sirius' eyes. His friend's gaze was not the least accusing, just watching him intensely. Remus nodded, never losing eye-contact.

"Yes, he told me. After he woke up in the hospital wing, before he started shutting everybody out. But he didn't tell me everything, only what I needed to know to understand the night before. But I think it is important that he's the one who tells you, because it doesn't matter that much what actually happened. It is far more important how Harry feels about it.

Sirius, this boy has been on an emotional rollercoaster for years now. Always going from the relatives that despised him to a school where he had friends and was loved, and the next year the same things repeated. Then his uncle lost his marbles and nearly killed him, and suddenly Harry finds himself living with you, a father figure. The two of you have gone from hardly knowing each other to being a family within days, it's no wonder that there are things that have remained unsaid so far. And as if this was not enough, Voldemort was trying to kill Harry all the time until he didn't know whom to trust and whom to distrust anymore. It had to happen once, and we just have to get him to open up again. He has to know that he can trust us, no matter what happens."

Sirius looked down at his hands for a moment, then he nodded and got up from the sofa.

"What are you doing?"  
"Following the good advice of a friend. Clever man that guy, you would like him. Though sometimes he's a real pain in the ass."

Sirius shot Remus a grin and then he left the room.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

In front of Harry's door Sirius had lost all of his previous courage again. For long moments he just stood there, hand raised to knock but stopped in mid-air and tried to summon all his courage.

'Now or never Sirius. Stop being such a coward, he won't hex you.'

Sirius had never been very good at encouraging himself, but then he decided to stop thinking about it and finally starting to act. He pushed the door open a little and stuck his head into the room.

Harry's bedroom was dark and at first Sirius thought that his godson had already gone to sleep. Just as he was about to turn around again and wait until tomorrow, Harry spoke.

"Still not finished bothering me?"

Sirius turned again and completely entered Harry's bedroom, closing the door behind him. In the dim moonlight that managed to get through the closed curtains, he could detect the outline of his godson on the bed. Harry was turning his back towards him, clutching tightly onto a pillow.

"No. Erm, yes. I mean, I don't want to bother you, there's just something I wanted to tell you before I leave you alone again."

He sighed and made a tentative step towards the bed.

"It's been wrong of me to push you into telling. It's just that things between us aren't what they were before, and I don't like the way they have developed. I'm not angry at you, I'm just sad about it and want to know what caused those things to come in between us. But if you're not ready to talk about everything that has happened, then I'll accept it. I don't think it's good for you to bottle it all up, but it's your decision. I just want you to know that whenever you feel like talking, I'll be there to listen. And I promise that nothing you tell me will make me think less of you. I don't want you to feel that there are things you can't tell me. They might hurt me, or upset me, but I won't think any less of you and nothing you tell me can change the way I think and feel about you, okay? Take your time and come to me when you're ready."

Sirius waited for an answer, but received none.

"Harry?"

Still he received no answer, but by now his eyes had adjusted enough to take a closer look at his godson. Harry was still lying the way he had done before, clutching tightly onto the pillow and staring unfocusedly ahead.

Sirius stepped closer and sat down on the edge of Harry's mattress. Harry didn't acknowledge him at all.

"What's wrong Harry?"

The boy only shook his head.

"Nothing. And everything."

Sirius nodded.

"A pain that definitely is somewhere, only that you can't really say where it hurts. The weight of the world on your shoulders. You want to find a place to hide yourself from the world and just cry it all out. Nobody can really understand it, and you think they're all better off if they don't. You think that you have to go through it alone but deep inside you desperately wish that there was somebody willing to help and understand."

Harry looked up.

"Are you trying to analyze me? Go on then, enjoy yourself."

A sigh.

"Harry, I don't enjoy analyzing you in the slightest. I just happen to know what it feels like to be alone, to have nobody who can even begin to understand what you were and still are going through. I have twelve years in Azkaban to cope with, and I didn't want any body to get close enough to me to realize what that means, either."

"You see? You already have enough to go through, you don't need me to burden you with something else."

Another sigh. This was turning out more difficult than Sirius had imagined. He made a mental note to apologize to Remus for all the times when he had been the one coaxing Sirius into opening up.

"But maybe I want you to. Harry, I know that our fighting, Dumbledore's death, those images of your parents, everything that happened during the night of the attack, that all those things are weighing heavily on you. You obviously don't know how to deal with all that has happened. 

Maybe I want you to share whatever you feel with me, because I know that it helps to entrust others with what's going on inside of you. It makes you vulnerable, yes. It even makes it worse for a short time. But it also makes it better in the end. Harry, whatever bothers you right now, it won't go away on it's own."

Harry managed a harsh laugh.

"Oh, and you know the perfect way to make it all vanish, don't you?"

Sirius shook his head.

"No Harry, I don't. But it's not been too long ago that I've been in a similar situation that you are in right now. 

Do you remember when Dumbledore told me to 'lie low at Lupin's' at the end of your fourth year? 

I had been out of Azkaban for nearly two years then, and I had not spent one single night in my human form because of the nightmares. They haunted me, they brought me back to a place that I would have preferred to forget completely. They brought back all the memories of Azkaban and what I had to endure there. All my guilt, James' death, Lily's death, Peter's betrayal, everything came back to haunt me at night. And instead of facing the nightmares, I chose a way to avoid them. I had thought that I could continue this during my stay with Remus, but it took him only a couple of days to find out. I guess the fur on the bed sheets was a dead giveaway.

And then the two of us had the same conversation that we are having right now. He was trying to make me open up, to share what was going on inside of my mind. And I wanted him to leave me alone, I thought that I could manage it all on my own. I never wanted him to realize how fucked up my life really was because I thought as soon as he realized that I wasn't the friend he had known anymore I'd lose the last bit of our friendship that had remained. We too had a lot of things that still stood between us, that needed to be talked about. But I didn't allow him to start it, because I was afraid that I might hurt him, that I might lose him.

But he didn't let go, he didn't stop pestering me until one night at the end of the first week I completely broke down. I can't recall what triggered it, I just recall that I cried my heart out for all that I was worth. And much to my surprise, Remus didn't go and leave me alone in my misery because he realized that I wasn't the person he had once known anymore. On the contrary, he let me cry on his shoulder until I had let everything out. I must have sobbed myself into exhaustion, it hurt and I felt embarrassed that I had lost it so completely in front of Remus. But somehow it helped. The nightmares didn't go away all of a sudden, but I knew that if I needed him, Remus would be around to help me. And after hours of crying on his shoulder like a little child, waking him up because of a nightmare suddenly didn't seem so embarrassing anymore."

Sirius looked at Harry to see whether he still had the boy's attention. Harry still wasn't looking at him, but he seemed to be listening.

"Have you had a good cry over all of it yet?"

A barely noticeable shake of the head was all Sirius received as an answer. He sighed and put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. Whether it was that touch that triggered it or something else Sirius could not tell, but at that moment all the dams inside of Harry seemed to break. A huge sob escaped his lips and Sirius reacted the only way he could imagine. He pulled Harry into his lap and held him close, letting him bury his head in the crook of his neck.

"It's just not fair!"

Sirius said nothing, inwardly knowing that Harry didn't really talk to him, but rather vocalized all his pent up frustration in between the sobbing.

"It's not fair that it all happens to me! I never asked for it! All I ever wanted was a family, but already that seemed too much! Mom and Dad died, you didn't care, Remus didn't care, Dumbledore didn't care! Nobody ever cared!

And then I finally find a place where I belong, and the first thing is that Voldemort comes along and tries to take that away from me as well! People were in danger because they were my friends, just because of that and nothing more!

And of course everybody expected me to go out and defeat Voldemort again, nobody cared that I was just a normal boy, an average under-aged wizard and nothing more. But no – we have to keep Harry Potter alive, he's our tool against the Dark Side. Keeping me alive, that was all they cared for. Left me with the Dursleys because that was safest, not once asking what I wanted. Not asking if I wanted to go there. As long as I kept functioning, then everything was alright. Who cares how fucked up The Boy Who Lived is after Voldemort is finally defeated, we don't need him anymore then. Let him pick up the pieces of his life we left, he'll be alright. He's always alright, he's our golden boy!

Nobody ever cared."

Harry's voice broke and Sirius looked at him with wide eyes. He had expected an outburst sooner or later, and he had expected that Harry had accumulated a lot of frustration and hatred against the world inside of him, but he had not expected it to be that bad. And Sirius somehow felt that it wasn't over yet.

When he focussed his gaze on the boy in his arms, he found that tears were running down Harry's cheeks and he was desperately fighting to keep at least a little hold on himself. When Harry continued, his voice was lower and not angry anymore, but full of sadness and on the verge of breaking.

"I had them back. I had them, not really back but rather really had them for the first time in my life, and then he takes them away from me again. It's all been a plan, he's been fucking with my mind all the time, until I didn't know what was true and what wasn't anymore. 

And before I even have a chance to understand what's going on, it's all gone. All gone. In the blink of an eye it's all gone. Doesn't matter to him, doesn't matter to anybody else, but it's been my world that had been turned upside down more than once in a couple of weeks. 

Voldemort is dead and all of them say that now everything makes sense. But I don't see it. It doesn't make sense to me. Nothing. 

So many people have died, not only Mom and Dad, but so many others. And now Dumbledore as well, gone without telling me where the sense is in that. But everything is supposed to make sense now, everything is supposed to be alright now and I feel as if I'm the only one who doesn't understand anything. I can't go on, not if I don't know how. And why.

My life is in pieces because all of this shit I never asked for, and everybody who could help me is either gone or has been pushed away by me. 

It's all my fault. All. My. Bloody. Fault!"

Harry's fists hit Sirius' shoulder blades with each syllable as if to emphasize them. Sirius was at a loss as to what to say now. Not that he thought there were any words that would help Harry now, but he felt he needed to say something, he needed to let Harry know that he was not facing this on his own.

"You're not alone, Harry."

It was barely more than a whisper into Harry's ear, but Harry must have heard it. And that was the moment when he lost the last bit of composure and completely broke down.

Harry cried as if he could do nothing else. If he felt embarrassed about being held like a small child, then he didn't show. But most probably he just didn't care at the moment, all that mattered was that he seemed to have finally found a way to let out all the pent up frustration, anger and pain from inside. Remus might have thought that Harry had cried heavily after waking up in the hospital wing, but it was nothing compared to the violent sobbing that now shook his body. Whenever Sirius thought that Harry was about to calm down again, another hard sob pent up in his lungs and forced its way out. 

Sirius once in his life deliberately kept his mouth shut and instead took a leaf out of Remus' book and just restrained to giving his godson a steady shoulder to cry on. He didn't say anything for as long as Harry was crying, he simply held him in his lap and rubbed encouraging circles across his back.

Harry cried for the better part of one and a half hours, and when his breathing finally evened and the tears stopped flowing Sirius realized that Harry had cried himself into sleep. With a small smile, he gently eased Harry back onto the mattress and pulled the blankets over him. He wiped away the last tear track on Harry's face with his thumb, placed a kiss on his hair and got up from the bed. For some moments longer he stood next to the bed and looked down onto his godson. 

He knew that Harry was far from being okay again, that their relationship was far from being okay again. He had not completely understood what Harry had been rambling about while he had held him, but he knew that they would talk about it eventually. There was still a long way to go for all of them before Voldemort and what he had done to their lives would eventually become a thing of the past, but this had been one step on the way.

The first step on a difficult road.

With that thought, Sirius turned around and left Harry's room.


	19. Epilogue

_It's over. This is the epilogue, the final part of my story. I have to admit, I'm sad. More than sad, actually, because this story was just so much fun to write! And you were so awesome with your reviews, I can't thank you enough!_

_The promised preview for my new story won't be at the end of this chapter, it'll be published as a separate chapter so that I can remove it after some time. Should be up later this day, I only have to type it once more. More about that in the header._

_For the A/N for this week (the last ones…*sniff*)_

_Christy__: You're right, a mere 'sorry' would not have been enough. But thank you, I'll definitely keep writing. It's just so much fun!_

_Kelly__: Thank you! I'm sad as well, but all things have to end someday. Sad. And yeah, things between Harry and Sirius weren't that easy to solve._

_sarahpeach__: AU means Alternative Universe. Meaning something is different from Canon, mostly 'What if Harry's parents were alive' or 'What if Harry had lived with Sirius.' My AU will be slightly different, but you'll see in the header. At least I've hardly seen stories about this particular scenario before… But as for your impatience: it might take two or three weeks until I've written enough of the new story that it feels safe to publish some. Storyline is still filled with gaps, need to work on that. But you'll see…_

_Bookworm2000__: Don't cry, please! Maybe just start reading it all over again…*g* I realized that typing mistake in the A/N of last week, but I was too lazy to remove the chapter, change it and upload it again. Of course it's Snape who has to go to the muggle houses and not Sirius. Sorry 'bout that._

_kingofcliffy__: Thank you ever so much, hearing this means a lot to me. Honestly. I'm glad you liked the story so much._

_Ms__. Issues: Thank you, and the teaser will be up, just as promised. Just give me an hour to type it, I wrote it by hand while at home for the weekend._

__

_elmtree__: It's me who has to say thank you, because without all those great reviewers out there I would have never gotten through with writing this story. THANK YOU!_

_anaticulapraecantrix__: Thank you. If there will ever be a sequel, this scene will be in with loads of credits to you! *g*_

_phoenix220__: Don't worry, I didn't get it wrong. Glad your test was o.k. Here you go!_

_Schwester__ Aurelia: I'll mail. I PROMISE this time! But thank you anyway!_

_Okay, once more: A huge THANK YOU to everybody who reviewed the story. Every single one of you, far too many to name them all here. But you know who you are. Without you, I'd have never started this new version after the first not so good one. I truly enjoyed reading your reviews and responding to them. It was fun!_

_Oh, and evil spapple pie: Can I have Remus and Sirius back now? They are still alive, breathing and with their soul, and I have to admit that I miss them. The house is so silent without them. PLEASE *big puppy eyes* PLEASE_

_As always, _

_Enjoy!_

****

**Epilogue**

It was an extremely bright June day, and the midday sun bathed the grounds of Hogwarts in lively colours. Groups of students, mostly from lower years, were enjoying themselves in and around the lake, the giant squid drifted lazily along the surface and bathed in the sunlight while everywhere on the castle grounds small groups of students and their parents walked along and enjoyed the day, mostly muggle-born seventh years who showed their parents around school as they had not seen the castle before.

It was no usual day at Hogwarts, it was Graduation day.

In the Quidditch stadium, Professor Flitwick and Professor Martins were busy lowering the stands to ground level for the parents and younger students to sit on during the ceremony as well as setting up a platform where the speeches would be made and the students would receive their diploma as qualified wizards. The stands were set up on one end of the pitch facing the platform on the other end. In between, the teachers and seventh years would be seated during the ceremony on chairs that had been summoned from the castle. 

After an hour of work, Flitwick and Martins nodded at each other. Everything was ready for the graduation ceremony. 

Professor Carrie Martins had come to Hogwarts slightly more than a year ago, as a replacement for Minerva McGonagall. When the Head of Gryffindor had become Headmistress after the Death of Albus Dumbledore, she of course had not been able to fill her previous positions anymore, as headmistress her days were laden with work enough already.

Martins had graduated from Hogwarts around fifteen years ago and up till last year taught in a wizard elementary school in Kent, until the letter from Hogwarts had arrived. McGonagall had remembered her as one of the most talented Transfiguration students she had ever taught and had considered her to be the perfect choice for the job, and Martins had more than gladly accepted the job offer. She had enjoyed teaching the younger children, but working with students who didn't even own a wand and therefore could not perform any magic had become quite dry and unrewarding with the years, it didn't demand her to use her skills as much as she would have liked. 

The students had immediately taken a liking to their new teacher and Head of Gryffindor house, especially the male population of Hogwarts. Carrie Martins was the youngest of the staff members, and by far the best looking with her long honey coloured hair, expressive brown eyes, well shaped body and her liking for robes that were slightly more tight tailored than it was standard. And while probably most of the male students above fourth year had a crush on her, the female population of Hogwarts as well as her colleagues appreciated her teaching qualities, her knowledge and her fun loving attitude and open nature. She wasn't as strict and unapproachable as McGonagall had often appeared, but made it perfectly clear right from the start that in her classes there were some ground rules, and those who crossed them would find themselves on her bad side. And those students who had experienced it so far swore that it was something they didn't like to repeat anytime soon.

McGonagall was convinced that she could not have made a better choice than hiring her, though Snape contradicted openly whenever she said so. With Martins, finally someone had entered the staff of Hogwarts who was able to give Snape back some of his own medicine, and there had not been one single verbal sparring match or discussion so far that the Potions master had won. Though McGonagall had noticed that whenever confronted with Martins, Snape seemed to lose a rather large part of his ability to think straight and coherent, and from time to time she had caught her colleague stare at Carrie with a somewhat glassy and dreamy expression. 

McGonagall truly enjoyed confrontations between those two teachers in the staff room, Carrie Martins' presence seemed to do Snape good. Between all the banters and quarrelling, the Potions master seemed to have discovered that sarcasm wasn't the only form of humour that existed.

Leaning on one of the goal posts, Remus Lupin watched how Martins and Flitwick finished their work and set off towards the castle again. He too had noticed the change of Snape's behaviour whenever the new Transfiguration teacher was around and used it mercilessly to tease him. He still was a Marauder, after all. And once he had even managed to make Snape blush when he had reminded his colleague to send him and Sirius an invitation for the wedding. Snape had quickly turned around and left, but Remus had seen the colour rising in his face.

Sirius hadn't stopped laughing for the better part of an hour when he had told him about it.

Remus shifted his position a little and glanced around the castle grounds. They were looking just like they had done on his day of graduation, there was no sign indicating anymore that one and a half year ago the final battle against Voldemort had taken place here.

Remus couldn't prevent his thoughts from returning to the weeks of the aftermath.

It had taken the Ministry quite some time to figure out what exactly had happened that night. 

The number of the people killed had become clear after a couple of days. A hundred and fourteen Ministry wizards had been killed either by the Death Eaters or the werewolves, seventeen more had received the Dementor's Kiss during the battle and had ended up at St. Mungo's. None of the Aurors that had been bitten by a werewolf had survived the night. And though the Ministry wizards had tried to stun and arrest rather than to kill, sixty two Death Eaters had not survived the night either. A large number of them had been attacked by their own werewolves after the Aurors had started protecting themselves against them.

The werewolves as such had been a riddle far more difficult to solve. Nearly ninety dead werewolves turned back into humans had been found on the battlefield the following morning, and the wolves that had fled into the forest had found themselves in a rather difficult predicament after they had changed back. Ministry wizards had collected one hundred and four naked and very confused Romanians out of the Forbidden Forest and the surrounding area, hardly any of them able to speak English but all of them very confused.

After they had been collected, checked by medi-wizards and given clothes and food, they had been brought into custody of the Ministry for questioning. It had not surprised Remus that none of them had been able to recall precisely what had happened to them, but what had surprised him was that none of them remembered to have left Romania at all. Even if they had been caught during full moon, they should have remembered the things that had happened after they had changed back, and most of them had been caught more than three months ago. Either their memories had been altered, or they had not changed back at all. 

After the Ministry had carefully examined every single one of the werewolves and had found no trace of any memory charms, they had already been willing to declare this riddle as unsolvable. But then one of the Death Eaters in Ministry Custody had turned out to be one of the few Death Eaters that had been stationed at the Manor where the werewolves had been kept. The man had testified that the werewolves had been caught in Romania during two full moon nights by Death Eater forces, then been sedated and brought to England by portkey. 

The Death Eater told the Ministry how they had been held in the dungeons, their jaws magically chained and that once a day they had been stunned to administer a potion that prevented them from changing back. At this point, the name Valeria Salenin had been mentioned for the first time and the Ministry had approached Snape with the matter. Though the former Death Eater did not know Salenin in person, he had heard her name before, but not in connection with Voldemort. He knew her as a very skilled Russian potion expert, the books she had published since her graduation at Durmstrang had even become standard works on Potions in Russia, but she had never been brought into connection with Voldemort before the Death Eater had mentioned her.

Of course, the wizarding authorities immediately alerted their colleagues in Russia and Europe about this, but Salenin seemed to have vanished without a trace.

After Charlie Weasley had recovered from the consequences of being under the Imperious Curse for such a long time, he and the tree colleagues of his that had survived the night of the battle had been questioned by the Ministry as well. Their camp in Romania had indeed been raided by a large group of Death Eaters who had attacked at night, they had been stunned and transported into the Manor where they had been put under Imperious. The rest of their statements confirmed the Death Eater's testimony, though they neither knew any details about the potion nor the identities of the Death Eaters they had met during that time. But with these testimonies, the riddle about the werewolves was finally solved. 

Snape had taken blood samples from a larger number of the werewolves and ever since then had tried to find out which potion Salenin had created for her purpose. It was a complex and difficult task, but Remus was convinced that Snape wouldn't let go until he had found out.

The Romanian werewolves had been sent back to Romania, along with a group of British wizards from the Department of Dangerous Creatures who helped the Romanian authorities with registering the werewolves and establishing a system to keep them under control. Both countries agreed to work together on this in the future, and though Remus knew from own experiences that the British system was far from being perfect, a system with flaws was better than no system at all.

The Dementors had also been a difficult issue. Though their appearance during the night of the attack was easily explained, after all the raid in Azkaban had definitely not gone unnoticed, it had been quite a struggle for the Ministry to find and arrest them in the days after the battle. 

After the wave of joint Patroni had chased the Dementors away, they had spread in separate groups and tried to get as far away from Hogwarts as possible. Of course the Dementors could not be allowed to roam freely through the country, but finding a new location for them had been a difficult task. In the end, Hermes Wielding and his fellow Ministry officials had decided to locate them on an island in the North of the British Isles, according to the Dementors' liking for cold and wet climate. The island had been secured by countless wards and charms to prevent any wizard or muggle from accidentally landing there. This solution had proven to be successful during the last year. Nobody had entered the island and no Dementor had left it. Also, the island was watched closely by the Ministry to prevent any future dark wizard from recruiting them to his forces.

But the chances for any future Dark Lord were quite slim anyway these days, at least none that would be a former Death Eater. The Ministry guessed that the number of Death Eaters who had been able to flee and avoid being arrested was very small, and certainly no former high ranking Death Eater had been left. The slightly less than two hundred Death Eaters who had been arrested after the battle, Peter Pettigrew amongst them, had been given trials and had been judged according to their crimes. Peter Pettigrew had received a life-sentence in Azkaban, in a cell that had no possibility for him to escape as a rat. Of course without the Dementors guarding the prisoners, Azkaban resembled now a muggle prison, but still Remus was content with that punishment. Nobody had earned to go through what Sirius had, not even Wormtail.

From the castle in the distance, Remus could hear McGonagall's magically amplified voice telling the students, teachers and parents that the graduation ceremony would start in half an hour. It was the sign to finish all dressing and other preparations and assemble on the Quidditch Pitch.

Remus sighed. The day seemed to have passed in a blur. The parents and siblings of the seventh years had arrived in the morning after breakfast, and from then on the students had been allowed to fair just as they liked until the ceremony would start. Most muggle-borns had used the time to show their parents around and to introduce them to the teachers and ghosts. Remus knew that Ron and Harry had strode off together with Hermione and her parents, showing them the places of their adventures. But of course the first thing Hermione had shown them had been the library.

Remus had spent the rest of the morning talking to various parents as well as with a long conversation with Neville's grandmother during which he could not help but remember Neville's Boggart from years ago and told her about it. She too had been very amused by the story, considering that it had helped a lot to increase Neville's self esteem. After a quick lunch he had left the castle and just aimlessly strolled across the grounds, letting his thoughts drift freely while he watched the buzz of preparations around him.

He was sad to see Harry and his friends leave Hogwarts, from his own experience he knew that live would not be the same for them afterwards. Of course they would see each other regularly, but it wouldn't be the same as it had been for the past seven years. They would all start their own lives, their carefree time without responsibilities was over now. Truly, the time Ron, Hermione and especially Harry had spent at Hogwarts had not been really carefree and there had always been greater worries than the next term paper or exams, but still they had yet to discover how bitchy life could be when it came to the small details of everyday life. But Remus didn't have the slightest doubt that they would find their place.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched as the first students and parents left the castle and headed towards the Quidditch stadium. He could easily spot the Weasleys, all of them except from Fred and George. Remus shivered as he remembered that he had last seen them talking animatedly with Sirius in the entrance hall. The thought that Fred and George were back at the castle and didn't face Filch's wrath and the risk of detention anymore was scary enough, but the possibility that Sirius was with them somewhere, planning a prank, scared Remus to some extend. He knew the schemes Sirius could come up with, and combining them with Fred's and George's love for harmless looking inventions with scary outcomes was a dangerous thing to do. Harry had dragged him into their joke shop once, and what he had seen there had given him a very good impression of what was possibly about to happen tonight. Remus made a mental note only to eat things Sirius ate too at the feast tonight. 

On the other hand, Remus was glad that the biggest pranksters of Hogwarts' history were once more roaming the castle, life here had become quite dull and easy to foresee in that department after the Weasley twins had left. But despite all their efforts, Sirius and James still held the school record for most detentions.

Remus closed his eyes and let the sun shine on his face, enjoying the last minutes of peace before everybody would arrive to start the ceremony.

His thoughts drifted back again to the weeks after Voldemort fell for the second and final time. While the Ministry had been busy cleaning up the mess and convincing the public that the threat had been finally banned, Sirius and Harry had been trying to sort out the mess that had once been their relationship. That battle had probably been more demanding than fighting Voldemort could have ever been.

After Harry had broken down the night that Remus had tried to make them talk to each other, they had finally started to talk about all that had happened. But their situation had been one in which a mere 'Sorry' had simply not been enough, the trust between them had to be rebuilt and that had been a long and painful process.

Both had had to realize that the basis of their relationship had been too weak to sustain such a hard testing as the one they had faced. 

Sirius had come into Harry's life again at a time when Harry had already been a personality of his own, used to dealing alone with his problems and afraid to let people get close to him out of fear that they might get hurt or leave him again. And the circumstances under which Harry had discovered that he had a godfather could have been hardly worse as well. Sirius himself had his own personal hell to deal with, twelve years in Azkaban leave nobody unscarred in body and especially mind. And during the first two years in which Sirius had still been a fugitive, they had hardly had any chance to get to know each other better at all. Truly, Sirius had been important for Harry as well as the other way around, but there had been this enforced distance from each other that had prevented them from discovering the other's faults and failures, let alone talk about all the small things people in close personal relationships normally knew about each other.

And even when Sirius had finally been able to offer Harry a home with him, it had been under everything but normal circumstances. First, Harry's uncle had beaten him into oblivion and just as he had recovered from this, it had appeared that Remus had been murdered.

Though both Harry and Sirius had stood beside the other through these hardships, they simply had not had any time to get to know each other better. There had never been time for them to just relax, sit down and tell about their lives, get to know their strengths and weaknesses, their hopes and fears, their achievements and mistakes.

They had been close, no doubt about that, and they had trusted each other unconditionally, but the incidents around Voldemort's last attack had proven that it had not taken much to destroy this. Sirius and Harry had learned the hard way that circumstances had rushed them into this close relationship. All their confessions of love and trust had been honest all right, but they had been forced to leave out the necessary steps in their relationship that would have made those commitments last.

It had taken both Sirius and Harry days and weeks of talking, shouting, of accusations and tears to come to that conclusion, many times one of them had stormed out of the room, slammed doors shut or thrown breakable things at walls and doors. Remus had done his best not to interfere and let them work it out on their own, but more than just once he had been the one to settle between them when things threatened to get out of hand, or to console Harry or Sirius after particularly nasty confrontations. There had been times during the first two weeks when Remus had thought that things got only worse and had no chance of ever getting better again, but after Sirius and especially Harry had let out everything that had been weighing on them they had been able to start picking up the pieces.

What had followed had been weeks during which Sirius, Harry and also Remus had caught up on the things that had gone wrong in the first attempt. Now that they had let off the steam, after they had told the other what bothered them about each other, they began a new foundation for their relationship.

Even if he had wanted, Remus could not have excluded himself from that. He was a part of Harry's past as well, he too had witnessed the circumstances around the death of Harry's parents and he, being the last of his father's friends that had not been dead, supposedly dead or in prison, had not been a part of Harry's life either. A fact for which Harry demanded an explanation from him.

And so they started talking about it all. It was hard for Sirius and Remus to think back to the time around James' and Lily's death, to try and find words to describe the situation to Harry, to explain their suspicion against each other and the reasons for the decisions that both of them had made, but they tried their best to tell Harry everything he wanted and needed to know to understand what it had been like. Remus thought that he had never been so honest about what he had seen, felt and done, and also about the mistakes he had made. It was scary, it was dreadful, and most of all it hurt so much that he would have preferred not to think about it at all, but he knew that it was necessary for all of them. Sirius didn't feel much different about it, especially since he had learned to dread all those memories during his time in Azkaban. But they went through with it, despite all the pain it brought.

As a countermove Sirius had expected Harry to be just as honest and open about what he had been through as well, and he too realized that getting through with it despite the pain was the only option he had if he wanted to save the relationship he had with Sirius. If he wanted to have Sirius in his life as a parental figure, he would have to share his feelings and fears with him, he would have to let him get close to who he really was, without keeping secrets. And this was something Harry had never done before.

Eleven years of living with people who despised him and didn't care about his feelings at all had left their marks on Harry, and the following years during which he had tried to keep people from getting too close to him did not help him in this situation either. Harry had always been forced to live up to certain expectations, being The Boy Who Lived he had thought he was not allowed to be weak or overtaxed. So it was difficult for him to believe that Sirius didn't have any expectations concerning him at all, that all his godfather wanted was to really get to know and understand him with all his strengths and weaknesses.

But Harry had known that if he wanted Sirius to be a part of his life, then he would have to overcome his doubts and tell him what he wanted to know.

Harry knew that he wanted to get close to Sirius again, the thought that he could lose the only parental figure he had ever known hurt him more than anything, but Harry was scared. 

Remus clearly remembered the night when Harry had woken him up at three in the morning because pondering over this again and again had kept him from sleep.

Harry had been scared out of his mind that Sirius might not want him anymore when he found out who Harry really was and how weak he considered himself to be. It had taken Remus a lot of coaxing to get this confession out of Harry and a lot more to convince him that Sirius didn't hold any expectations towards Harry, except that he was honest towards him.

Remus had been astonished how afraid Harry was of admitting weakness and failures, how much he was convinced that people only saw in him what they wanted to see and weren't really willing to look below the surface. He had realized then that Harry had lived in the shadow of so many expectations for all his life that he now was afraid to disappoint people around him in their beliefs. The memory of James had thrown his long shadow over Harry just as much as his own fame as The Boy Who Lived. Harry had developed the feeling that he had to adjust his life to all those expectations.

That night, Remus had talked to Harry for a long time, trying to convince him that he didn't need to have those fears, not around the people who really cared for him. They had talked about Ron and Hermione and why Harry didn't have those fears around them, and in the end Remus had convinced Harry a little more that he really didn't need to pretend to be something he actually wasn't, especially not around Sirius.

Looking back now, those first two months after Voldemort's destruction had been the hardest Remus remembered. Having the people you cared for still alive and around you, but seemingly out of reach on an emotional level had been a difficult task for all three of them, but especially for Harry and Sirius. But slowly, with a lot of honest confessions, rebuilt trust, shared secrets and even far more tears, they had made it. 

It had been awkward at first, after they had talked about everything that had been bothering them. As if they had been afraid to do something that might make it all worse again, Sirius and Harry had treated each other as if they were made of glass, carefully avoiding everything that could cause a new disagreement.

But then Harry had spent two weeks with the Weasleys at the beginning of April, and this had given Sirius and him the distance they needed to process everything that had happened. When Harry had returned, it had been hard to believe that the situation between them had been so strained only weeks before.

Remus knew that this would not always remain that way, there would surely be fighting, arguments and disagreements in the future, but this time Harry and Sirius had a far better basis to sustain it all. They knew where their middle-ground was and which borders of the other one it wasn't wise to cross.

Of course neither Harry nor Sirius was perfectly okay again, both had too much in their past lives to cope with. Sirius was still haunted by his time in Azkaban, he was still paying the prize for the one wrong decision of his life, for the one time when he had put his trust in the wrong person, and he would be paying that prize probably for the rest of his life.

Harry was still trying to get over the death of Dumbledore, the guilt he felt for Cedric's death and the harm that Voldemort had done to him by murdering his parents and with this condemning him to a life with his aunt and uncle. Harry had seen things Remus would not wish his biggest enemy to go through and parts of that would accompany him throughout the rest of his life.

But both now knew that they didn't need to go through this alone, they knew whom to turn to when they felt they could not bear it alone anymore. They had both begun to heal and Remus knew that if they were given more time and rest, they'd be able to leave it all behind eventually.

Remus jumped nearly thee feet into the air when suddenly a voice next to him pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Daydreaming, Professor Lupin?"

Remus spun around and found himself face to face with a grinning Sirius. He smiled.

"Sort of. Just letting my thoughts drift off."

Sirius nodded and pulled out something from behind his back.

"Treacle tart?"

Remus eyed the small pie that Sirius held on his outstretched hand suspiciously, then remembered whom his friend had been spending the past hours with and shook his head.

"Only if we share it."

Sirius looked at the tart and bit his lower lip, something that only confirmed Remus' suspicion that it was advisable not to eat the tart.

"You see Remus, I'm not very hungry at the moment."

Remus nodded.

"Of course. What doest that tart do?"

The grin on Sirius' face was back and even wider than before, something Remus could clearly remember from their time at school.

"Well, let's just say that Fred and George are really inventive. Clever buggers, those two, surely worth every detention they ever received."

"Sirius, what does that tart do to the one who eats it?"

"Something I would very much see happening to Snape. Or can you imagine him saying everything he wants to say in limericks?"

Remus grinned. He would love to see Snape like that, but he also instinctively knew that this was not the only thing Sirius and the twins had prepared for this afternoon and the following feast. 

When he looked around, he saw Carrie Martins pass them with a very pissed off expression on her face. Remus knew of only one person who could do that to her, and suddenly an idea struck him.

"Sirius, I'm going to make sure that Snape eats at least one of those tarts if you tell me what other pranks you and the Weasley twins have planned."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and put on a hurt expression.

"Me? Remus, how can you accuse me of…"

"Sirius!"

Remus grinned knowingly and finally Sirius gave in.

"Okay, deal. But first you show me your infallible plan to make Snape eat this."

"Fine. Carrie, would you come over for a second?"

Carrie Martins, who had been talking to Professor Vector some feet away from them, looked over and nodded. She quickly ended her conversation and stepped towards the two Marauders. Had Remus been looking at Sirius at that precise moment, he would have seen his jaw drop nearly to the floor.

"Oh, Carrie, have you met Sirius?"

Carrie shook her head and smiled.

"No, I don't think I had the pleasure so far."

"Carrie Martins, this is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and an old friend of mine. Sirius, this is Carrie Martins, Transfiguration Professor and new Head of Gryffindor House."

Sirius gained control over his facial muscles again, put on one of his infamous million-candle-smiles and stretched out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you. Now I fully understand why Harry has developed such a sudden liking for Transfiguration during the past year. I always considered it a rather attractive…subject, myself."

Carrie laughed and blushed a little.

"Harry is a very clever student, it was a pleasure to teach him and his friends. And now I finally get to know that legendary godfather he talks about so often."

Their hands lingered a moment too long for a normal handshake, and had they been looking at Remus they would have seen him rolling his eyes. After a moment, Carrie drew her eyes away from Sirius and looked at Remus.

"Remus, you wanted to talk to me?"

Remus nodded.

"You looked kind of distressed when you came here. Could it be possible that you had a lovely encounter with a certain Potions Professor on your way here?"

Carrie's facial expression quickly turned harder and her eyes began to sparkle dangerously.

"The air of that man, it's…it's…there are no words to describe it. Really. The school year is already over, and just as I pass through the Transfiguration corridor, I see him taking off points from three of my students. For the next school year, can you believe that?"

Remus frowned his brow, not so much because that didn't sound typical for Snape, but because he wondered what the Potions master had been doing in the Transfiguration corridor.

"What happened?"

Carrie sighed.

"Two of his fifth years with that typical Slytherin attitude had started insulting and threatening those three second years of mine. And as a reply, they got hexed with a nice mixture of itching- and hand-numbing-hexes. Snape came along and without asking took five points off for each student. Well, I just came across that scene and gave him a piece of my mind about that."

Sirius and Remus laughed as they imagined Carrie giving Snape some harsh words in front of the students. Carrie grinned.

"And after he and his students left, I awarded ten points to each of my students for creative use of magic. Serves him right. Oh, sometimes I only wish I got the opportunity to get him back for this unbearable attitude."

Remus grinned and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into the shadow of one of the stands, Sirius following suit.

"Oh Carrie, I think we can help you with that."

Carrie grinned. She knew that Remus had a very strong fun loving and pranking side, and if only half of what he and Harry had told about Sirius was right, then this promised to be fun.

Five minutes later, Carrie left with the treacle tart wrapped in a handkerchief and a rather large grin on her face, an expression matched by Sirius'. Remus gave his friend a look from under raised eyebrows.

"What?"

Sirius pretended to be innocent as a newborn baby, but he couldn't fool Remus.

"You fancy her."

Remus couldn't believe his eyes. Sirius blushed! That was even better than teasing Snape with it.

"Well, you can't deny that she's hot, Remus."

Remus laughed. No, he could definitely not deny that. Sirius suddenly sobered.

"Or do you…? Because I wouldn't want to interfere…"

Remus raised his hands.

"Not at all. That's something you'll have to fight out with Snape and the majority of the male students at the castle."

Sirius grinned mischievously.

"Well, the thing about Snape sounds like fun."

Remus shook his head. Sirius definitely would never grow up.

"Come on, let's go. Or do you want to miss Harry's graduation?"

"I wouldn't want to miss it for anything. Will Snape be making a speech?"

Remus laughed.

"Unfortunately not. But I guess we'll hear some poetry of his during the feast tonight. Which reminds me…on our way back to the castle, I'd like to know which food is save to eat and what places I should avoid standing in at certain times. You promised."

"Maybe we should take a longer road back to the castle, the list is quite long actually. Did I mention that Fred and George are really clever guys?"

Remus nodded and grinned painfully.  
"Yes, I think you mentioned it somewhere between the lines."

They moved out from behind the stands and while Sirius took his place in one of the stands next to Molly Weasley, Remus set off towards the teacher's seats. He sat down next to Fillius Flitwick and with a grin noticed that Snape had willingly eaten the treacle tart that had been handed to him by Carrie. Remus relaxed back into his chair. This day promised to be fun.

After Headmistress McGonagall had made her speech about how the seven years of magical education had turned the unknowing eleven year old children into fully qualified wizards who were now able to leave the safety of the castle and find their own places somewhere in the wizarding community, the top student of the graduation class held another speech as it was tradition. And who else except from Hermione Granger could that have been?

Much to the surprise of most of the people present, Hermione didn't speak much about the magical education they had received, as most people would have expected especially from her. Instead, she held a very touching speech about friendship and the value of standing up for your beliefs. Remus couldn't help but notice that Harry and his friends were far more mature and grown up than he and his own friends had been at their graduation. For the Marauders, life after Hogwarts had seemed the next great adventure, something they needed to explore and of which they wanted to take as much as they could get.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had experienced more adventures than they could recall during the past seven years, they had grown up seeing Hogwarts as a safe place in a threatening and violent world where you didn't know whom you could trust. During their years here at Hogwarts, they had seen things no children of their age should have seen, and instead of exploring something new they now longed for a little rest and some time to find their place in the changed world around them.

Remus knew that Hermione with her top grades had already various job offers, he knew that Ron and Harry had been approached about joining the Ministry of Magic and that Harry had been asked to join Puddlemere United as a professional Seeker. 

But the infamous trio had already made their own plans, and job offers at the moment didn't have that much place in them. Harry had never left the British isles in his entire life, and so he, Ron and Hermione had planned to spend the next six months just travelling around in the muggle and wizarding world all over Europe, and maybe even America or Australia. They had not really planned that far ahead, they just wanted to go wherever they got drifted to and didn't even necessarily plan to make the entire journey together. After all, Ron and Hermione were still together and Harry knew that they would want to have some time of their own. Just as well as he knew that Ron would need somebody to distract him from Hermione after some time, those two had not really changed when it came to the fighting department.

Sirius had not been too pleased that his godson planned on journeying around alone, without someone to protect him, but in the end Harry had won that particular argument. All it had taken had been the promise to owl every week and the permission to Sirius to go searching for him if he didn't owl for two weeks straight. 

Remus knew how hard it was for Sirius to let Harry go, to let him lead a life of his own so shortly after they had come into each other's life, but Remus thought that Sirius seemed to take it very well. Well, he'd hide the key to Sirius' house bar after Harry would leave, just to make sure.

While Remus was grinning to himself at the image of an over-protective godfather trying to get drunk because his precious godson was so grown up all of a sudden, Hermione ended her speech and the handing out of the diploma began.

Politely, everybody clapped as the students were called onto the podium one by one in alphabetical order and received their diploma from McGonagall.

When 'Granger, Hermione' was called upon, the applause grew noticeably louder, but that didn't surprise, considering that the entire Weasley family was celebrating their 'daughter-in-law-in-a-sense'. 

When finally 'Potter, Harry' entered the podium and shook McGonagall's hand, the applause was ear-deafening. But still Remus' sharp hearing could detect a very loud cheering from behind that suspiciously sounded like Sirius.

But that was nothing compared to Fred's and George's idea to surprise their little brother. When Ron received his diploma, from all around the stands batteries of "Filibuster's Wet Start Fireworks" shot up and formed the words 'Go Ronnykins' in the afternoon sky. Ron blushed a deep crimson red, obviously deeply embarrassed by his elder brothers who were sitting in the stands and laughed their heads off. Remus saw them high-fiving Sirius and inwardly thanked his old friend that he had spared Harry with this. On the podium McGonagall seemed to wish that finally the day would come when the last Weasley would leave Hogwarts for good.

Remus thought with a grin that he would tell dear Minerva later on that Fred's girlfriend Angelina was pregnant. The next generation of Weasleys was not that far away, and he would very much like to see her face when she got to know that. He made a mental note to ask Sirius for the camera before he told her.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus was standing near the buffet in the Great Hall and watched the scenery before him. The band had started playing some minutes ago and all over the dance floor in the middle of the hall couples were moving with the music. Arthur and Molly were somewhere in there, just like Ron and Hermione, and not so long ago he had seen Sirius dragging of Carrie towards the dance floor. While Remus was watching, Harry was approaching him from the buffet with a plate of food and a glass of fruit-bowl.

"He Remus."

"Hi Harry. Enjoying yourself?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"More or less. I'm hiding from Ginny, she wants to ask me for a dance. Gosh, can nobody understand that I don't like dancing, let alone that I'm not able to dance?"  
Remus laughed.

"Women."

He watched Harry's plate with a clinical interest. Should he warn him?

"Erm, Harry? I don't think you'd want to drink that fruit-bowl."  
Harry looked up in confusion.

"Why?"

"Which bowl did you take it from? The left or the right?"  
"The left. Why?"

Remus quickly took the glass away from Harry and held it in a firm grip for himself.

"Well, the right one was spiked by Fred and George. The outcome of this you see if you take a closer look at Professor Sprout."  
Harry looked and had to bite his tongue in order not to laugh. The small Herbology Professor was talking to a pair of parents at the far off wall, but her feet weren't touching the floor. She was hovering about three feet in the air.

"Okay, I see. But why then should I not drink from the other bowl?"

"Because the other bowl was spiked by your godfather. And judging from what he did at our graduation you don't want to drink it. Besides, you're far too young to drink Fire-whiskey in those amounts."

"Remus, I'm not a child anymore…"  
But Remus only shook his head and kept the glass out of Harry's reach.

"You'll thank me tomorrow morning when you wake up and don't feel as if you've been hit by a bus. Besides, you'll have enough to deal with when you've eaten the food on your plate."

Harry shook his head.

"You're not serious about this, are you?"

Remus ignored the old possibility for a pun and nodded.

"Oh yes, I am serious about it. We should take care that Fred and George's meetings with Sirius will be reduced to a minimum in the future."

When Harry looked around in the Great Hall, he realized that nearly everybody suffered to some extend from 'Marauder food poisoning'. Professor Flitwick was constantly jumping up and down, McGonagall's hair changed its colour every ten seconds, various parents had changed the colour of their skin, a group of fifth years was trying to get their ears and nostrils from steaming and when his eyes finally fell on Draco Malfoy he burst out laughing. 

The Slytherin was standing in a far off corner talking to Pansy Parkinson. He didn't seem to have realized yet that his hair was standing up in neon coloured spikes, and Parkinson didn't make one move to tell him. Other than that, his fine dress robes had miraculously turned into a brown and green muggle hippie poncho without his knowledge.

Remus joined Harry's laughter.

"I think the poncho was a nice hex from Hermione, if I've judged her wand waving and laughter from a couple of minutes ago rightly."

Harry looked up.

"Then I guess I'm right if I suppose that Sirius had something to do with Snape's sudden liking for comical poetry?"

Remus' eyes widened.

"You heard him? It's a pity, so far he's kept silent the entire evening. We already thought the prank had been in vain. What did he say?"  
"Well, I don't think he wanted to talk to me, but old habits don't die that easily I guess. He caught me outside the hall as I just came back inside with Ginny…"

Harry blushed a deep crimson and Remus had to bite his tongue in order not to laugh out loud.

"Well, anyway. He wanted to tell me off for walking out of bounds again I guess, but it came out different than he wanted."  
"What did he say Harry? Don't tease me, I've waited the entire evening for this."

Harry's face showed a smirk every Malfoy would have been proud of.

"_Potter, you rule-breaking prat_

_Once more you got caught in the act_

_You strayed out of bounds,_

_You havocked these grounds_

_You should be punished for that!_

He couldn't stop once he started it, and he made a face…it was unbelievable! As if he would kill himself because of that! It was awesome, I should thank Sirius for that!"

Remus took some moments until he had himself under control again, but just as he had composed himself once more, he unconsciously took a deep swig from the fruit-bowl in his hands, which immediately resulted in a coughing fit.

Harry patted his back and when Remus could breathe freely again, his face looked slightly flushed.

"I guess I should warn Sirius that it would be healthier to avoid Severus for the rest of the night, less he wants to spend another night in Madam Pomfrey's care."

Harry looked around.

"Where is Sirius?"

Remus shrugged.

"Last time I saw him, he was dancing with Carrie."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this, but remained silent. Both Harry and Remus soon spotted Sirius and Carrie amongst the dancers, when suddenly from the other end of the hall Snape started hurrying towards the two. Sirius saw him coming, stifled a laugh and after some quick words grabbed Carrie's hand and pulled her off. 

Harry laughed just as well. Other than his little poetry problem, Snape now also had the hair on his head bouncing up and down in tight little curls, a pink bow tied in the middle. He didn't look too amused about it, much unlike the rest of the people in the hall.

Harry looked at Remus with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"He'll never grow up Remus, will he?"

Remus only shook his head.

"I hope he won't."

END


	20. Preview

**She's done it! In case you didn't know by now, JKR's publishers have announced that the fifth book will be released on June, 21st.**

**Here's the link:**

**http://www.bloomsburymagazine.com/harrypotter/wizard/section/news.asp**

**It's one third longer than Goblet of Fire!!! The article also features two extracts from the story:**

**"The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive … The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four."**

**And:**

**"Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. **

**'It is time,' he said, 'for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. **

**Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.'"**

**Though there's not much in it about the actual story, finally things start to get moving.  Yay! Can't wait for it, and she'd better have loads of Remus (she said he'd reappear!) and Sirius in it…**

**Join the celebrations, it's only 158 days more to go if I've counted right!**

Okay, here's the promised preview to my newest plot bunny. But beware, it might take some time until the story is so developed that I start posting, and it is possible that I still change the parts here.

First: It's an AU. Alternative Universe. Something happened that didn't happen in JKR's books. Or – in this case the other way around. Something didn't happen that happened in the books. Harry didn't go to the Dursleys. I'm sorry, but for the details you'll still have to wait a little, but I guess you'll get a good impression of where Harry went from reading those pieces here.

I also tried a different approach in writing: The story will be set around Harry's third year, but there will be flashbacks. A lot of flashback. They'll be written in italics, so that I don't have to write 'flashback' on top of them all the time. You'll soon see that though big parts of Harry's life at school (Philosopher's stone and Basilisks) remained the same, mainly because I couldn't think up an entirely new life for Harry, large parts of canon have changed. But as for that – you'll also have to wait.

What I give you here are three random pieces out of the story (which is not written yet), in the later story they won't be necessarily in this order or even close to each other. I guess a lot of things will come in between these scenes, but I liked them and so I give them to you. Hope I didn't confuse you yet.

I just want to make one thing perfectly clear: In my story, things might be different from the books. Characters, events and stuff like that. No drastic changes in everyday life, and certainly no mysterious new powers or stuff like that, but let's say it like that: I won't just repeat writing Prisoner of Azkaban here. 

Before you ask – YES, there will be Sirius in it, but maybe not the way you would have imagined. Can't say more. Maybe he already is in the parts I give you here, who knows?

Two major things: The story has no title yet (I'm awfully bad with titles) and I haven't decided yet whether it will be slash. I'd like to hear your opinion on that, though I can't promise to write as you please. But your opinion might help me make a decision.

And now:

Get yourself confused and enjoy!

_Remus woke up with what was probably the worst headache in his entire life. He instantly knew that the transformation last night had been one of the worst for a long time. Though he could not remember much, he still felt that the wolf was feeling restless, it was disturbed by something, but by what Remus could not tell._

_He carefully opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself in his bedroom. He was sure that he had not managed to get up here alone, so somebody must have brought him here. His first guess was that it had been Sirius, but usually Sirius stayed by his side until he had woken up. And hadn't Sirius told him only yesterday morning that he would not be able to come over?_

_Remus carefully sat up and tried to find out what had woken him up, but as he contemplated about this he realized that somebody had put on his pyjama pants and wrapped up his chest and forearms in bandages. The wolf must have raged last night if his injuries were that bad. He could still feel the wolf's anger and restlessness._

_Raised voices from downstairs made him look up. That must have woken him a couple of minutes ago. Curious as to what was going on in his own house, Remus rose from the bed, pulled on a wide robe and opened the door._

_Three voices were arguing downstairs, two of them Remus didn't know. When he stepped down the stairs, he saw that his father was arguing with two other wizards, Ministry officials by the look of their robes, and was trying to make them leave again._

_"I told you already that he is in no condition to talk to you right now. Leave and come back tomorrow, then he should be able to speak to you."_

_The taller of the two Ministry wizards made another step into the hall, despite Richard Lupin's efforts to close the door in his face._

_"You don't understand, Mr. Lupin. We have urgent business with your son, this can't wait until tomorrow."_

_Richard let out an exasperated sigh._

_"He is sleeping and I won't wake him up just because you think your business can't be delayed by a day. Leave now!"_

_The smaller of the two others suddenly interrupted._

_"I don't think there's the need to wake him up anymore."_

_Remus found himself suddenly watched by three pairs of eyes as the other men realized his presence in the room. Richard immediately walked over to his son's side and held out an arm for him to lean on. He sighed._

_"You shouldn't be up. I told them to leave, but they didn't listen to me. Sorry that we woke you up."_

_Remus shook his head._

_"No, it's alright."  
He turned towards the two Ministry officials._

_"You wanted to speak to me?"_

_The taller man nodded._

_"Remus J. Lupin?__ Yes, we need to speak to you on an urgent matter."_

_"Why don't we go over into the living room then."_

_Remus allowed his father to support him on the way into the living room, where he sat down on the sofa with exhausted sigh. Richard handed him a blanket which he took gratefully. It was already quite cold for beginning of November. Remus looked at the two Ministry wizards expectantly, his face not betraying the inner turmoil that had started as soon as he had seen them. Something was not right here, something had happened._

_"Well, and you would be?"_

_The taller of the two wizards looked up._

_"I am Auror Stevens, and this is Auror McMillan. Ministry Department of Capital Crime."_

_Remus frowned his brow. Why on Earth would the Ministry send two Aurors who investigated crimes like murder into his house? What had happened last night?_

_Stevens realized Remus' distress and continued to talk._

_"We need to speak to you concerning the events of last night."_

_He pulled out a file from his briefcase._

_"We first need to confirm the information in our files. You are Remus Jonathan Lupin?"_

_Remus nodded._

_"Yes I am."_

_"Date and place of Birth?"___

_"__February 20th, 1960__ in __Egerton__, __Kent__."___

_"Recent occupation?"___

_"I'm about to finish my doctor's degree in Defence techniques and the specialized literature concerning this topic in January. I'm employed by the __London__University__ of Magic, I'm teaching classes in Defence."_

_Stevens nodded and began the questioning._

_"Is it correct that you know Sirius Black?"_

_Remus nodded and swallowed against the lump that formed in his throat. They had come because of Sirius? Where was Sirius anyway? Had something happened to him? He didn't even notice that Richard returned from the kitchen with a tray of tea and forced a large mug of the hot liquid into his hand._

_"What is your relation towards Mr. Black?"_

_"We are friends. We went to school together, Hogwarts, and after graduation we shared a flat until the beginning of this year. Why? Has something happened to him?"_

_Not even reacting to Remus' question, Auror Stevens continued while McMillan wrote down everything Remus said._

_"Do you know where Mr. Black was last night and what he intended to do?"_

_Remus shook his head._

_"No. No, I don't know. What is this all about?"_

_"What is your relation towards Mr. and Mrs. James Potter and Mr. Peter Pettigrew?"_

_Remus shook his head in confusion._

_"The same.__ We all went to school together, we're close friends. What has happened?"_

_"Do you know if Mr. Black stands in connection to You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters?"_

_"No. I mean, we knew that somebody was passing information to them about James and Lily, but Sirius? No, no he wouldn't do that."_

_"Is Mr. Black a Death Eater?"_

_"What???"  
"Since when has Mr. Black been a Death Eater?"  
"Don't you listen to me? Sirius is no Death Eater, never. Now would you finally care to tell me what this is all about?"_

_Still, Stevens ignored Remus' questions._

_"Do you know anything about Mr. Black's plans for last night or for the near future? Has he planned a journey lately? Talked about leaving the country?"_

_Remus shook his head._

_"No, never.__ What has happened?"_

_"One last question.__ Where have you been last night between ten in the evening and seven in the morning?"_

_Remus let out a harsh laugh._

_"I'm fairly sure that directly beneath my name in the Ministry files there's the remark 'werewolf, male' in bold printing. And if you care to check the lunar chart, yesterday night was full moon. I've been in the garden shelter, protected by countless wards and charms, since __five o'clock__ yesterday afternoon, throughout my transformations, and until my father brought me back into the house after moonset this morning. I don't recall the time of that because I was not conscious. Now would you finally tell me what this is all about? Why all those questions about Sirius and my other friends? What has happened?"_

_Remus was close to being frantic now, so shortly after his transformations it normally didn't take much to upset him and the way those two Aurors had been avoiding all his questions so far had not helped to ease his mind in the slightest._

_Stevens leaned back and gestured McMillan to answer Remus' question. The smaller Auror put his quill back into his briefcase and looked up._

_"Last night, Mr. and Mrs. James and Lily Potter were murdered in their house in Godric's Hollow, supposedly by You-Know-Who himself. In the early morning hours, Sirius Black was obviously cornered by Mr. Peter Pettigrew in a street in Muggle London. Witnesses testified that Pettigrew accused Black of having betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord, then Black blew up the street with a curse, killing Pettigrew and twelve by standing muggles in the process. When our units arrived there minutes later, we found Black still there, standing in the middle of the destruction and laughing about his deed. He is being brought to Azkaban for association with the Dark Lord and thirteen cases of murder as we speak."_

_Remus just stared, trying to process the information. James and Lily were dead. It could not be, could it? He knew that they had performed the Fidelius Charm only a week ago, that they had chosen Sirius as their Secret Keeper. If Voldemort had found them, that meant that Sirius had given their location away. No, Sirius wouldn't do that, would he? But then again, they had known that one amongst their small group of friends had given away information about James and Lily, and hadn't his growing suspicion towards Sirius been the reason why he had moved out of their flat? But Sirius wouldn't betray James, would he? James was like a brother to him, how could he have done that? And Peter…Sirius had killed Peter and twelve innocent muggles. Remus could not imagine it, but it had to be true. Sure, Sirius was able to do perform such a strong curse, he was a very powerful wizard, but Remus had never believed him capable of such a crime. But then, what other explanation was there? Voldemort could only have found James and Lily if Sirius had given them away, and there were witnesses who had seen Sirius kill Peter and thirteen muggles. It had to be true. But why?_

_Remus literally felt his world shatter at the moment he realized what this meant. James, Lily and Peter were dead. Sirius was on his way to Azkaban, and after what he had done he had died for Remus as well. His whole world, all the people he had cared for since they had met at school, were gone. Gone in the blink of an eye. Last night, before he had gone into the garden shelter for his transformation everything had been alright, and now only hours later, his life lay in pieces at his feet. Moony was howling in pain, but Remus knew that as soon as the wolf would realized the implications of it all, it would be furious._

_Completely oblivious to his surroundings, Remus didn't realize his father coming back into the living room, the morning copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands and all colour drained from his face. Seeing the distressed condition of his youngest son, Richard ushered the Aurors out of the room._

_"That's enough, you've asked him what you needed to. Now leave, before I personally throw you out."_

_Stevens and McMillan got up from their chairs and left the room, moments later the sound of the front door closing shot sounded through the suddenly all too silent house. Richard put the paper onto the table and sat down next to his son. Remus was staring unfocusedly ahead, his whole body shaking. The tea in the cup he still had not realized he held spilled all over his hands._

_Richard took the cup from Remus' hands, put it onto the table and then took Remus into his arms._

_He held his son, gently rocking him back and forth while Remus tried to understand what had just happened to him. Suddenly, realization dawned._

_"They're dead!"_

_He managed to choke out before he completely broke down. Richard could not remember when he had last seen Remus cry like that. Normally, self control was Remus' most urgent instinct, he didn't let himself go like that. Richard decided that he would not allow his son any chance to fall into depression, he knew fairly well what possible outcome this could have after the next full moon._

_"Not all of them are dead."_

_Remus looked up from red-rimmed eyes and Richard handed him the paper. Not quite understanding what his father was driving at, Remus took the paper and looked at the front page. The pictures were the first thing to catch his eye and nearly made him throw up. One large picture showed the debris that only hours ago had been the Potters' home at Godric's Hollow with the Dark Mark floating in the sky above. But what made Remus feel sick was the second picture on the page._

_It showed Sirius, the man Remus thought he had known better than anybody else, standing in the middle of a devastated street, debris and other things Remus didn't really want to know what exactly they were all around him, and he was laughing. His face was a mask of madness, nothing resembling the fun loving prankster Remus had known for years and he laughed even as the Ministry wizards took away his wand and apparated him away._

_"Don't look at the pictures. Read."_

_Remus heard his father's voice from far away, but it took him long moments until he managed to take his eyes away from the moving images that proved his friend's betrayal. When he looked at the headline, his jaw dropped._

**The Boy Who Lived defeats He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named**

Last night, the wizarding world was finally freed from the threat that You-Know-Who has posed upon all of us for the past decade. The Dark Lord vanished as he attempted to murder Harry Potter, fifteen months old infant son of James and Lily Potter, both Ministry Aurors. The Potters had been killed only minutes before in an attempt to save their son, but miraculously young Harry did not only manage to survive the Killing Curse, but also to destroy You-Know-Who. The precise circumstances remain unknown for the time being…

_The paper fell from Remus' hand._

_Voldemort had fallen last night? Harry had defeated Voldemort? Harry was alive? Oh god, Harry was alive…_

_~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~_

_Moony was pacing. Literally._

_Remus Lupin would, if asked, have been the first to confirm that the wolf was always a part of his personality, of his mind, no matter what phase the moon was currently in._

_And normally Moony was ore or less successfully fighting for the control of Remus' mind, but throughout the years he had gotten used to being fought into the background for most of the month._

_The next full moon was still one and a half weeks away, a time during which Moony was normally caged somewhere deep in the back of Remus' mind. _

_But not today.___

_Moony had control over his human's mind like he normally only had shortly before the monthly transformation. Something was not right, Moony could feel that._

_Something was about to happen, something was not the way it was supposed to be. Moony could smell it. Anticipation was in the air. Something was different tonight._

_The last time he had felt like this had been…_

_Remus Lupin sighed and made his way from the living room into the kitchen. Inwardly, he was scolding himself that he had allowed the wolf to surface so strongly. He had even been pacing on the rug in front of the fireplace, mimicking the urges of his canine self in his own actions._

_Remus filed the water kettle and boiled it with a well-practiced wave of his wand. While he prepared his tea with automatically carried out actions, he couldn't help but allow the wolf to finish his thoughts._

_…seventy moons ago. More than seventy times the moon had come and waned again since Moony had last felt this restless and excited when full moon had still been so far away._

_Seventy moons ago, Moony had not understood yet. He had not understood yet the full impact of what had happened to him. Of what had happened to them._

_Seventy months ago, Moony's pack had died. The only pack Moony had ever known. Oh, not all of them were dead, but the stag was gone and so was the rat. They were dead, but the wolf's favourite had not died. It had taken Moony a long time to understand that the dog was worse than dead._

_Long months of restless longing later had Moony finally understood: his pack was gone, he'd never see, hear, feel or smell any of them again._

_During those months of realization Moony had been just as restless, he'd tried to pace away the anticipation so see his pack mates again. He had not believed then, had not wanted to believe, that he would never see any of them again._

_But why did Moony behave like this, especially right now? Remus thought of himself that he understood the wolf after so many years, but he didn't understand Moony's current behaviour._

_Why did he behave as if he was restlessly waiting for his pack mates? As if his pack mates were near? His pack mates were dead, and Moony knew that. He had learned it the hard way._

_It had been hard and painful for Moony to learn, but his pack mates were gone. The were out of his reach and they would never return. Never again would they run under the full moon together._

_Worst of all the dog. His favourite. Padfoot. His mate._

_But something was not right tonight, Moony could feel it, could smell it so strong in the air that he was surprised his human self didn't seem to feel it as well._

_All of his instincts were heightened, every alarm bell inside of him was ringing._

_Maybe something was wrong with the last member of his pack. Had something happened to the pup?_

_Remus sighed and put down his cup of tea. He should have known that it would come to this, that the wolf would think along these lines._

_And now Moony wouldn't let go until he had been shown that the pup was alright._

_With another deep sigh, Remus got up from his chair and walked over towards the staircase in the hall. The wards that separated the ground floor from the upper floor were still in place and intact, and Remus already wanted to turn around again. No way could anybody have gotten upstairs since he had set up the wards._

_But Moony wasn't pacified so easily. _

_'The pup', he screamed, 'look after the pup. Go and see if the pup is alright.'_

_So Remus took down the wards with a wave of his wand and a few muttered, well chosen words, then he climbed the stairs to the upper floor and opened the second door to the right. One look inside the room confirmed that everything was alright. The window was closed and the small form on the bed was breathing evenly, obviously fast asleep._

_The pup was alright, Moony could smell it. It was lying in its bed, and taking in a deep breath Moony found that there was no other smell in the room than his own and that of the pup when it was content and peacefully asleep. Nothing had dared to attack the pup tonight, not even one of the nightmares it still suffered under from time to time._

_Though the wolf wasn't pacified, he now at least knew that his restlessness was not caused by the pup being in danger. Nobody had come near his most precious pack-member._

_For some long moments, Remus stood next to Harry's bed and watched his seven year old godson sleep._

_He gently tucked some loose strands of hair out of Harry's eyes, revealing the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. The scar that still connected him to the night in which he had lost everything, just like Remus and Moony had lost everything that night._

_And just like the huge scar on his right shoulder branded Remus as an outcast, especially without his pack, did the lightning shaped scar mark his godson and outsider. He might be considered a hero, the golden boy, saviour of the wizarding world, but an outsider he was nevertheless. An outsider who needed to be protected from the long shadow that his own fame threw upon him._

_Remus pulled up the discarded blanket and tucked Harry in. A kiss on the forehead and a whispered 'Good night, pup' later he turned around and left the room again._

_He went downstairs to at least try and get some of his word finished. On his way, he once more set up the wards on the staircase that protected the pup upstairs._

_Moony was getting more and more excited as they went downstairs again. He felt a presence he had not felt for many moons, a presence he had thought impossible ever to feel again. And it wasn't even full moon._

_Remus stepped into the library and stopped dead in his tracks. The room wasn't illuminated except from the faint moon- and starlight that fell through the window, but Remus didn't need to see what was going on to know that something here was not right. On the contrary, something was awfully wrong._

_Moony was howling in joy because of the presence he felt. A presence Remus now felt too, but he knew that it could not be true. Could it?_

_Remus turned towards the wall on his right, but before he cold even draw his wand he was interrupted._

_Moony howled as he heard the voice of his old pack mate again. How long had it been since he had last heard this voice, since his human self had laughed about a joke it had made, since he had last heard his human self talk with it until dawn had risen? When had he last heard this voice speak encouraging and consoling words before and after he had once more taken over his human's mind?_

_But something was wrong, somehow his pack mate's voice now didn't sound encouraging and friendly at all. It had a menacing quality Moony had never heard it hold before._

_Moony flinched and howled in pain when he realized that his pack mate's intention this time wasn't to help, but to harm._

_His pack mate's cold voice said just one word, one word that made Moony's world collapse once more in the blink of an eye._

_His pack mate's voice said 'Crucio__'._

_Remus fell to the floor and screamed in pain._

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Twelve year old Harry Potter leaned back into his seat on board of the Hogwarts Express with a sigh. His second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had just come to an end and he was on his way home again.

And to say that it had been an interesting year would be an understatement, but that had become normal for Harry.

You see, Harry Potter was no ordinary twelve year old boy, not even from wizarding standards. When Harry had been fifteen months old, his parents had been killed by a Dark Wizard named Voldemort, and only the protection his mother had left in him by sacrificing her own life for her son had saved him from suffering the same fate. Voldemort had been hit by his own curse that night, getting reduced to a mere and weak spirit. 

The wizarding world had already celebrated Voldemort's defeat, but during the last two years since Harry had started attending Hogwarts he had had to realize that Voldemort's spirit was still seeking for his old power, trying to get strong enough again to finish what he could not have done eleven years ago.

During Harry's first year at Hogwarts, Voldemort had attempted to get hold of the Philosopher's stone, a token that would lead him to immortality. He had failed, but this had not saved Harry from encountering him again.

And then, during the last year, Hogwarts had nearly been closed because an ancient Basilisk had haunted the school and petrified students. Harry had known that he was a Parselmouth since he had been very small, but he had not been able to draw a connection between this ability and the voices he always heard emerging from the castle walls, threatening to seek blood and kill. He had believed that if he admitted hearing voices nobody else could hear, he would soon have his own comfortably cushioned room at St. Mungo's, therefore he had remained silent. Only after Ginny Weasley, the little sister of his best friend Ron, had been kidnapped Harry had been able to solve the mystery about what haunted the school. To be bluntly honest, it had been his studious friend Hermione who had figured it out, but at that time headmaster Albus Dumbledore had already been removed from his position and Harry and Ron had had to make an end to this on their own. Nobody else would have listened to what they had found out.

In the end it had become clear that a diary with the conserved spirit of Voldemort's sixteen year old self Tom Riddle had started it all to happen, and Harry and Ginny had barely escaped with their lives from the confrontation with Tom Riddle's incarnation and the Basilisk.

Again, Harry had spent over a week near the end of term in the Hospital Wing, embarrassed an unnerved by all the people that were fretting over him. Not even talking about the lecture he had received from his frantic godfather who had been called to Hogwarts immediately after Harry had been brought to the Hospital Wing. Fifteen minutes, Harry had listened to how foolish it had been of him to seek out the danger on his own, risking his life without telling anybody about it. An experience Harry didn't want to repeat very soon, but somehow he could not help the feeling that he had not heard the last of it yet. In the Hospital Wing he had heard the 'concerned version' of the lecture, but at home with some distance to the incident surely the 'serious version' would follow suit. Trust him to ground Harry for sneaking around in the castle on his own. 

And of course he had had to take his End of the Year Exams as if nothing had happened, and though he had passed nearly all subjects with average or good grades, he had nearly failed potions.

But Harry didn't want to think about that right now. The school year was over and he was going home, two and a half months of summer holiday before him. He would surely visit Ron and his family at the Burrow for a week or two, and maybe his friends would also be able to spend some time at his place. With another sigh he pulled himself out of his thoughts and back to his friends and what they were doing.

Ron, Dean and Seamus were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap, while Hermione and Neville were still discussing their Herbology exam. A loud explosion signalled the end of the game, and judged from the dust in Ron's and Dean's face, Seamus had won. Ron grinned.

"Another game? Harry, are you in?"

Hermione interrupted.

"We'll be arriving at King's Cross in a couple of minutes, better get ready."

Dean packed the card into his bag while everyone else in the compartment also began packing up their belongings. The train was already slowing down, when suddenly Ron remembered something.

"Hey Harry. Will there be someone to fetch you, or shall my parents apparate you home?"

Harry frowned his brow and thought for a moment.

"Well, I didn't get an owl telling me that nobody would be there, so I guess someone will be there to fetch me. But just in case there's nobody, I'd be glad if your parents could give me a lift."

"No problem."

The train slowly came to a halt on platform 9 ¾, and Harry and his friends made their way out of their compartment. When Harry stepped out of the train, he immediately saw Mr. and Mrs. Granger standing there, having a conversation with Neville's grandmother. Hermione and Neville went over towards them while Harry took a closer look around in search of somebody waiting for him. Over to his left stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and with them was…

"Remus!"

Harry grinned and walked over towards his godfather and guardian, who at the sound of his voice had turned around and started smiling.

"Hello Harry!"

Remus engulfed him in a warm greeting hug, then after some moments held him at arm's length and looked up and down, as if searching for any injuries he had not seen while he had been at Hogwarts after the incident with the Basilisk.

"How are you Harry? How's your arm doing? Any pain?"

Harry smiled, though Remus' over-protectiveness could sometimes take on extreme extents. Blasted pack instincts of the wolf.

"I'm fine Remus, really. Otherwise Madam Pomfrey would not have let me out of the infirmary at all. You know how she is. It's alright, it's only been a bite."

Remus made a choking noise.

"Oh yes, only a Basilisk bite, nothing to worry about."

While Remus kept on making sarcastic remarks about the harmlessness of Basilisk bites in particular and Hogwarts' safety in general, Harry took a closer look at his guardian himself. The reason why Ron had asked him if somebody would be there to fetch Harry was that full moon had only been yesterday night, and Harry wanted to see what the latest transformation had done to Remus. His guardian looked tired and pale, there were huge shadows under his eyes as if he had not slept enough, but other than that he looked fine. Harry had seen him in worse states after full moon more often than he wanted to remember. But nevertheless he knew that Remus had a tendency to hide any sign of uneasiness.

"And you? How has it been last night?"

Remus stopped his rant and looked at Harry, a somewhat pained expression on his face.

"It was alright. I've seen worse. Let's go home, shall we? I think there are still a couple of explanations you owe me concerning why you nearly lost your life, alone, somewhere in the dungeons of Hogwarts."

Harry sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I just want to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione."

Remus nodded, and while Harry went over towards his friends, he turned around to the Weasleys again.

"Molly, Arthur. I'm sure we'll see each other again quite soon. Knowing the kids, it won't be two weeks until they start planning to visit each other again."

Molly smiled.

"Yes. Ron already said something about Harry coming over and about him and Hermione visiting Harry near the end of the holidays."

"Well, as long as they are strategic in choosing the time, I won't complain about it. Though I think I'll need to have a couple of words with a certain Mr. Potter first, but I don't think I'll ground him for too long."

He grinned again, but Molly only shook her head and laughed.

"Give it up Remus. As if you could ever be strict with Harry. We'll be in contact. Good bye, Remus."

"Bye Molly, Arthur."

Remus turned around, shrunk Harry's trunk and pocketed it, then picked up Hedwig's cage.

"Ready Harry? Hold on tight."

Harry nodded and took Remus' hand, and with a low *pop* they apparated away, not knowing yet what they were about to experience throughout the following months.


End file.
